
Book _^-/6-S 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



Philip Freneau 



DEDICATED 

TO THE 

SONS AND DAUGHTERS 

OF THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



Author's Preface 

THERE is nothing new in this book, kind reader, 
for, if Solomon proved to his satisfaction that 
there is " nothing new under the sun," presumptuous 
indeed would it be in me to think to have succeeded 
in that wherein the wisest of men has failed. 

M. Bautain, in his admirable treatise,^ speaks of 
two methods of conceiving a subject : the one direct 
by means of illumination, the other indirect and within 
the reach of ordinary minds. He says it is difficult 
to be original upon subjects already treated of; but a 
second sort of originality consists in giving forth ideas 
that have become incorporated in one's own, and have 
been quickened with the life of one's own mind, which 
is called " taking possession in the finder's name." 

This latter process, he continues, consists in acting 
as does the bee, which extracts from the flowers the 
aromatic and oleaginous particles, that serve to form 
the honey and the wax. " Be it well observed," he 
says, " that the bee first nourishes itself with these sub- 
stances by the process of absorption and assimilation." 

Therefore, kind reader, if in perusing this imperfect 
work you should find that which is familiar to you, 
remember it is not solely with the intention of giving 

^ Bautain on " Extempore Speaking." 

vii 



Preface 



you the new that it is written. " Non nova^ sed nove^'' 
says Vincent of Lerins — not new, but in a new form. 
I claim no originaHty in the treatment of my subject ; 
my efforts have been directed rather to presenting 
in the best light the character and times of the subject 
of our biography, than to the endeavor to appear orig- 
inal. When this end could be the better attained by 
making use of the words of others, I have done so ; as 
most of the information they have received has 
emanated from the same sources as my own; namely, 
the relatives of the subject of this work, and likewise 
of the author. 

An author^ has deplored the fact that there are 
hundreds of names of men who hav^e rendered the 
most important services to their country, that have 
been suffered to sink to the grave " unwept, unhon- 
ored, and unsung," and in a great measure it has been 
this thought that has prompted me to do what lies in 
mv power to keep alive the memory of one who, born 
almost a century and a half ago, had an influence in 
the colonies during their struggle for independence 
that is said to have been very great. 

I speak of Philip Morin Freneau, the " Poet of the 
Revolution." 

Although in Freneau's case we may not hold as 
strictlv true the words of the author above quoted, 
inasmuch as from time to time able and interesting 
articles upon his life and writings have appeared, still 
from paucity of data these have been fragmentary and 
somewhat erroneous, owing in part to the disastrous fire 

1 Thomas. 

via 



Prefc 



ace 



that consumed Mont Pleasant, the poet's homestead, 
in which were consumed, along with much of his un- 
published poetry, many valuable letters and manu- 
scripts that would have given abundant matter for a 
most interesting work. 

Since undertaking the task of giving to the public the 
Life of Freneau, some unexpected data in the form of 
notebooks and marginal notes have thrown light upon 
some hitherto unaccounted-for years in the poet's life, 
and have served to link together the portions already 
given to the public, as well as to correct many mis- 
statements. 

Appreciating the fact that the life of a man is in 
reality a history of the times in which he has lived, 
and that the value of history depends as much on its 
veracity as upon the matter, 1 have endeavored to 
gain an accurate insight into the times, as well as the 
life of the man. I am enabled, consequently, to say 
that what 1 have stated as facts are in accordance with 
history, whereas such things as have not been proved 
are given as probabilities. 

As one can judge of the works of a person being 
great or small only by comparing them with those of 
others, as well as by their effect upon posterity, I leave 
all judgment to my readers, contented with merely 
supplying the facts. 

As no less than fifteen authors, possibly more, have 
written upon this subject, most of them being authors 
of repute, I have drawn entirely upon them for the 
matter contained in the chapter devoted to Freneau's 
poetry and prose compositions, bestowing all eulogy in 

ix 



Prcfc 



ace 

their words, as praise comes not well from interested 
parties, and criticism is not pleasant to one to whom 
the object is endeared by association with loved ones. 
With Mr. Julian Verplanck, his friend and reviewer, 
one would rather — 

" With full applause in honour to his age. 
Dismiss the veteran poet from the stage ; 
Crown his last exit with distinguished praise. 
And kindly hide his baldness with the bays." 



Philip Freneau 

he Poet of the Revolution 

A History of His Life and Times 

% . 
Mary S. Austin 



Edited by Helen Kearny Vreeland 

Great-granddaughter of the Poet 



Descriptas servare vices, operumque colores 
Cur ego, si nequeo ignoroque, poeta salutor 

Horace 



New York 
A. Wessels Company 

MDCCCCI I 1 * ^ 



COPYRIGHT, 19OI, BY 
A. WESSELS COMPANY 






THE LIBRARY OF 

GL'NGRESS. 
Two Cof'its Keceiveo 

JAN. 2 ^90? 

CLmSS (C KXo. k»w. 
COPY U 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



Table of Contents 

Page 

Preface ix 

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes I 

New York in ye Olden Time 12 

Huguenots in America 32 

The Founder and his Family in America 49 

Freneau's Youthful Days 69 

Gen. John Morin Scott 89 

Capture of the Aurora 104 

Almost a Decade of Years 121 

Freneau's Political Life 147 

Peace after War 1 76 

Freneau as an Author 211 

His Family and Relatives 227 

The Rising Glory of America 237 

Appendix 253 

Index of Names 279 



List of Illustrations 

Philip Frencau (Photogravure) Frontispiece 

TO rACE PAG£ ^ 

Church du St. Ksprit 5^ 

Agnes Watson, Mother of Philip Freneau .... ']i ^ 

National Gazette ^5° 

The Poet's Grave 2iO 

Q y 

Agnes Watson Freneau Leadbeater 2 20 



PHILIP FRENEAU 

The Poet of the Revolution 
Chapter First 

IN relation to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
much has been written by authors holding very- 
different sentiments. 

With some, we should deem the Huguenots an inof- 
fensive and deeply wronged people, persecuted solely 
on account of their religious convictions; according 
to others, we should look upon Louis Quatorze as 
a forbearing monarch, — one who, being in imminent 
danger of having his kingdom wrested from him and 
its religion subverted, was compelled to act upon the 
defensive. 

Some represent the Huguenots as bearing injuries 
inflicted upon them with fortitude, and suffering per- 
secutions even to martyrdom for their religion ; others 
depict the king as pursuing his rigorous course through 
the purest of motives, and to such an extent only as 
to repress the continual revolts of his rebellious sub- 
jects ; they would cause us to hear him say to his 
intendants, " Je vous recommande surtout de menager 
avec douceur les esprits de ceux de la dite religion ;" 
and to listen to his censure of one governor for pursu- 
ing a different course ; and to learn of the recall of 
another for the same offence. 

In the year of our Lord 1685, that which saw the 
Edict of Nantes revoked, France was divided into two 
parties ; the dominant one being that of the Crown, 
headed by Louis Quatorze, — a prince as scrupulous 
and inflexible in matters regarding the faith he pro- 

[-] [/] 



Phi/ip Frcucau 



fesscd as he was unscrupulous and lax in the morals 
he practised. Intolerant of any opinion not his own, 
he condemned freedom of conscience in his subjects as 
tantamount to rebellion against his kingly authority. 
In religion, as in other matters, he would be absolute. 

The minor party, that of the Huguenots, or Calvin- 
ists, still retained the characteristics sternly impressed 
upon it bv its founder ; which caused its adherents to 
live a life as totally at variance with that of their coun- 
trymen as was their belief. The severe and inflexible 
decrees of Almighty God, and the impotence of 
man's will in influencing his own destiny, being the 
basis of the Huguenot's creed, it produced in him a 
risjid severity of morals which, repressing all the nat- 
ural instincts and emotions, caused a corresponding 
austerity of manner in his private life; while his nat- 
ural independence of character, joined to the conviction 
of the hopelessness of his cause, gave him an air ot 
defiance in his public demeanor and intercourse with 
the outer world. The former party, powerful and all- 
important, were as arrogant as such characteristics usu- 
ally cause their possessors to become ; while the other, 
no longer of political importance and consequently 
possessed of no influence at court, bowed to the inevi- 
table, and, although subdued, were not conquered. 

Cardinal de Richelieu, upon his elevation to the 
prime ministry, set himself to the accomplishment ot 
three things ; and having already eftected two of them, 
namely, the humiliation of Austria and the extinction 
of feudalism, turned his attention to the one that lay 
nearest home, — the subjugation and conversion of the 
Huguenots. 

Their subjugation he had eftected in the year i6'28 
by the sie2;e and possession of La Rochelle, which had 
been followed by the reduction of Montauban, the 
last stronghold of the Huguenots in France. 

The terms of capitulation at La Rochelle had been 

l-'l 



The Poet of the Revolution 

liberal in the extreme, far more so than the besieged 
had dared to hope / and since the treaty signed at 
Alais in 1629 difference in religion had never prevented 
the cardinal from rendering the conquered all sorts of 
good offices, nor had it caused him to make any dis- 
tinction between Frenchmen in the fulfilment of the 
duties of his office.'^ Notwithstanding the late revolt 
of the Rochellese, he had continued to protect the re- 
ligious as well as the civil rights guaranteed to them 
by Henri Quatrc in 1598, in what is known as the 
" Edict of Nantes." 

But in regard to their conversion, even the sagacious 
Richelieu was mistaken, perhaps for the first time in 
his political career. The peaceful submission of the 
Huguenots was only the result of necessity. Their 
ambitious hopes crushed, their numbers depleted by 
the many wars they had undertaken, as well as the 
abandonment of their cause by the greater number of 
their nobility, had combined to oblige them to relin- 
quish all hopes for the future, and set themselves to the 
work of repairing the sad eflfects of the last war ; 
consequently those districts of France inhabited by 
them soon began to present their former appearance of 
fertility and thriftiness. 

Excluded from higher pursuits, those of the Hugue- 
nots whose means permitted them to do so, lived in 
retirement ; devoting themselves to the management 
of their estates, or else engaging in commerce, which 
they soon controlled to a considerable extent. Others 
turned their energies toward the development of the 
different manufactures in which, by their close appli- 
cation and enterprise, they soon excelled to such a 
degree as to cause some of its branches to become 
almost a monopoly with them. 

With returning prosperity and a steady increase of 
population, the Huguenots began to raise their heads 

* Ozaneau. ^ Richelieu's own testimony. 

{3\ 



Philip Freneau 



again ; and, as their religious as well as civil rights 
were secured to them, their academies soon became 
national synods ; and they have been charged with 
infractions of several of the articles of the Edict. 

Deprived, by death, of the counsels of the sagacious 
Richelieu and the prudent Mazarin, and likewise of 
the politic advice of the displaced Colbert, Louis, 
encouraged by the fanatical, war-loving Louvois, deter- 
mined upon taking more effective measures to hasten 
the conversion of the Huguenots which he was so 
desirous of bringing about. 

By degrees many of the privileges guaranteed to 
them were curtailed ; and they, fearing lest in time 
they might see the Edict rendered null, began to hold 
their assemblies as in days gone by ; and, as in those 
times, force was now likewise used to prevent them, 
sometimes indeed to such a degree as to cause blood- 
shed. Symptoms of insurrection in the southern and 
western portions of France caused Louis to realize 
that the spirit of Calvin yet lived ; and that the 
Huguenots were still a political body which might 
give cause for alarm. "It is necessary to recognize 
this fact," savs Poole, " in order to render the attitude 
of Louis towards them intelligible. This has been 
denied persistently by them and their descendants, 
and its assertion is stigmatized as an attempt to vin- 
dicate conduct which, judged by its results, is in a 
supreme degree indefensible. But the truth is that, 
from this point of view of the national disaster, the 
recall of the Edict, setting the whole world in an 
attitude hostile to Louis, stands at so indefinite a 
height among the follies of statesmen that no exagger- 
ation of fact can aggravate it ; for this very reason we 
should grasp at anything which, while it cannot palliate 
it, may serve to explain its stupendous mistake." 

At the king's council held October 2, 1685, the 
Act of Revocation was passed by a unanimous vote, 

1^] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

and Louis signed the declaration to be sent to the 
different intendants of the provinces, to be read by 
them in public. 

In concert with his minister, Louvois, he now set 
about the prosecution of the work with all the vigor 
of which he was capable. The dragonade was estab- 
lished, and cruelty succeeded cruelty. Threats, im- 
prisonment, and death followed each other, the latter 
by single murders and public massacres, until it 
seemed that the heresy would be extinguished in 
blood. 

The only alternative for the proud-spirited Hugue- 
nots was to abjure their faith or suffer the penalty. 
Escape was prohibited under pain of the galleys if 
they were caught in the act. Many of the Huguenots 
that lived in the shadow of the court abjured their 
religion; others, along with gentlemen living in the 
provinces, men of commerce and manufacturers, deter- 
mined to leave their native land, however hazardous 
the attempt might be. 

The depopulation of his kingdom had no part in 
the king's intention ; therefore he ordered the ports to 
be closed and the frontiers to be closely guarded, 
thinking thus to prevent the threatened exodus ; but 
determined men are not easily thwarted in their 
designs, and many ways were devised to elude the 
vigilance of the officials. 

In many cases gold proved the "open sesame" of 
closed ports and guarded frontiers ; disguises also and 
second-hand passports served to pass many across the 
boundaries, and frequently bales of merchandise came 
to life when safely stowed away in the holds of friendly 
ships. 

As the Protestant countries offered hospitality to 
the refugees, some sought homes in Holland and 
others in Switzerland. They were obliged to make 
their way thither during the darkness of the night, 

[5] 



Philip Freneau 



concealing themselves by day, and crossing the fron- 
tiers by the least frequented roads. Many found 
means of crossing to England, notwithstanding the 
precautions taken to prevent them from doing so. 

Certainly, the migration of such numbers of indus- 
trious people could not but make itself felt throughout 
the kingdom, and it did paralyze commerce and manu- 
factures to a great extent. It being impossible to 
ascertain the exact number of refugees, each historian 
seems to have set down figures according to his own 
conjecture ; consequently the numbers are in some 
cases undoubtedly exaggerated. Hume has estimated 
the exodus to have cost France half a million of her 
subjects, and many have accepted his statement. 
Larrey, Jurieu, and Benoit give as a total two hun- 
dred thousand, Basnage, one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand, Caveirac iifty-five thousand, and others seventy, 
and sixty thousand. The Duke of Burgundy, of 
whose opportunity of ascertaining the nearest ap- 
proach to the correct figures and of whose sincerity 
m stating them an historian has assured us,^ asserts 
their number not to have exceeded sixty-eight 
thousand. 

There can be no doubt that the loss of even the 
least of these numbers of subjects did affect the 
material prosperity of France ; and this fact was most 
probably the cause of the unwillingness ot Louis to 
have the Huguenots leave his kingdom. And here 
likewise historians differ. Some assert that their 
migration was the ruin of the country, while, on the 
contrary, others say that the disadvantage to France 
has been greatly overstated. Tessereau, the king's 
intendant, says : " Although the refugees from La 
Rochelle were from amongst the principal inhabitants, 
both in regard of substance and reputation, the gener- 
ality of the emigrants were those who either had little 

iFredet. 

[^1 



The Poet of the Revolution 

or nothing, or were compelled to leave what they had 
behind them." Certainly the majority were obliged 
to receive assistance from the countries in which they 
sought refuge, instead of enriching them as some 
would believe. 

They did take with them, however, a vast amount 
of energy, industry, and a knowledge of manufacture, 
along with the germs of the principles of the demo- 
cratic government they afterwards helped to establish 
in the new world, and a corresponding love for 
freedom, and hatred of monarchial forms of govern- 
ment, and all that savored of royalty. 

With their loss agriculture declined, and likewise 
the culture of the vine ; consequently the domestic 
supply and the foreign trade in wines were cut off. 
Imports failed, as the links of commerce were sun- 
dered; weaving also suffered greatly. Yet, notwith- 
standing all this, some writers have declared that, 
instead of being a misfortune to France, the king 
received congratulations because this emigration freed 
his kingdom from rebellious subjects whose loss would 
soon be made good. 

The greatest misfortune would seem to lie in the 
fact of a mother country so treating her children as 
to oblige them to seek a home on foreign shores, even 
were the reproach of one of the exiles to his fellow 
refugees merited, — of having caused these extreme 
measures by their own conduct ; to which he added 
a second, saying that the laws of most of the Protes- 
tant countries against Catholics were more severe than 
those of Catholic princes against Protestants.^ 

Those of the refugees that reached Switzerland im- 
mediately became incorporated into its civil as well 
as religious life, while those that succeeded in reach- 
ing Holland joined the Walloons, and some of them 
eventually reached the shores of the new world in 

1 Avis aux Refugies, Bayle. 

f7l 



Philip Freneau 



Dutch ships. Others again that sought permanent 
homes or a temporary asylum upon the English coast 
found in some localities French Protestant churches 
with the surplus of a fund, raised some years previously, 
and which was now devoted either to their maintenance 
or to defray their expenses to some of the British col- 
onies in the new world. 

Those of the exiles that settled in England adopted 
the established religion, alleging, as a reason for so do- 
ing, that the kindness received from the country as 
well as the church made such a step a duty for them; 
but others, so long as they were not obliged to re- 
nounce it, clung to the form of religion in use in their 
native land. Those that intended to make their future 
home in the colonies adopted, for the time being, the 
form of the established church. 

During their sojourn in England, the wealthier and 
more intelligent of the refugees had the opportunity 
of gaining information regarding the different British 
colonies, and had leisure to mature plans tor their 
future. Many of them had relatives or acquaintances 
in the new worid, and, after some correspondence with 
them, their future course was decided. 

Such of the refugees as had foreseen their flight, had 
left their property in the care of friends, who afterwards 
contrived to transmit at least a portion of it to the 
owners. To such, although saddened by reverses and 
separation from friends and country, the future did 
not present such a dreary aspect as it did to those who 
had only their passage money, or not even that. The 
latter were obliged to trust their future in the hands 
of some captain willing to convey them to the some- 
times very distant port to which the vessel was bound. 

None of the French vessels being of sufficient size 
to cross the Atlantic, the poor Huguenots were usually 
landed upon some European coast, were they fortunate 
enough to reach it alive ; for the voyage was full of dan- 

\8\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

ger, and the captains often unskilful. Many of the 
exiles found homes in the bosom of the deep. 

The American colonies were desirous of receiving 
the refugees. Massachusetts and South Carolina had 
agents in England to make proposals to them. Wil- 
liam Penn would fain have their assistance in the form- 
ing of his new colony, and Virginia offered them land 
at trifling cost and even as a gift, provided they would 
settle upon it. 

Many of the refugees took out papers of naturaliza- 
tion before they left England. Others, loath to cut 
the slender tie that united them to their native land, 
deferred the act until they should reach the precise 
locality in which they should decide to settle. 

When Charles II. first invited the Huguenots to 
England, he led them to believe that by one general 
act, they all would receive the benefits of naturalization ; 
but this idea was not realized. For a long time they 
were allowed to obtain under the royal seal a grant 
by which they might secure to themselves and families 
all the rights, immunities, and privileges enjoyed by 
free-born citizens ; the only obligation being that of 
actual residence in England or within its dominions: 
but several exactions were made ; among which was 
a certificate proving that they had received commun- 
ion, and another promising they would take the oath 
of allegiance and supremacy within a year. 

In 1 67 1 Virginia passed an act giving to all aliens, 
that desired to become citizens the liberties, privileges 
and immunities of those born within the British do- 
minions upon their presenting a petition to the As- 
sembly, and taking the usual oath of supremacy and 
allegiance. New York passed a similar act in 1686, 
and South Carolina did the same in 1691. 

Escape from their country was not, however, the sole 
solicitude of the exiles. By it one step might be accom- 
plished, but other steps were yet to be taken before 



Philip Freneau 



their lives could assume a peaceful tenor. First was 
the passage across the great ocean that lay between 
them and the new world in which they hoped to plant 
their " vine and fig tree ; " after which some time must 
elapse before they could hope to eat their fruits and 
rest beneath their shade. 

The passage of the Atlantic was fraught with many 
dangers. No two vessels ever pursued the same course, 
as Maury had not yet planned his wind and water-cur- 
rent charts. Chronometers and quadrants were un- 
known to navigation, the compass being the captain's 
sole assistant. Sometimes, indeed, the ship would be 
found many degrees out of its intended course, and 
again approaching to the very coast it had lately 
quitted. Steam not having been impressed into the 
service, the small and inferior vessels were the sport 
of every wind and wave. One moment raised on a 
mighty billow, the next would find them engulfed in 
its depths, to be tossed upwards just as the passengers 
thought to find a watery grave. 

Pirates infested the waters ; consequently, however 
distant, every sail caused a tremor of anxiety to cap- 
tain, passengers, and crew. Every vessel was obliged 
to carry guns and ammunition, which occupied the 
room needed for provisions for such a lengthy voyage, 
and sometimes they were reduced almost to starvation. 
Frequently deaths ensued from lack of food as well 
as from want of medical attendance and the simplest of 
remedies. 

" Land ho ! " was a joyful cry ; but often it was only 
the beginning of new dangers, as no pilots were found 
awaiting them, and no friendly lighthouse warned 
them of dangerous rocks; and in case of shipwreck 
no saving life-boats manned by willing hands and 
fearless hearts were there to save them. What won- 
der if many of the poor exiles required no earthly 
home. 

iw\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Provided the landing was successful, who shall de- 
scribe the homesickness of those who had left the 
most luxurious of all the modern countries, with the 
refinement of its society and the comforts of the fam- 
ily hearthstone, with its well-known faces and famil- 
iar language, to meet the inconveniencies and privations 
of a new land, with its strange tongue and unfamiliar 
countenances ? 

But brighter days were in store for these poor wan- 
derers. To whatever part of the new world they came 
they brought their industry and enterprise, and prob- 
ably no other class of emigrants contributed more, in 
proportion to their number, toward the prosperity of 
the country of their adoption than they. In whatever 
station of Hfe they belonged they were remarkable for 
their kindliness and courtesy, as likewise for the re- 
finement, and even elegance of their manners, as well 
as their mental calibre. 

Of the seven presidents of the Continental Congress, 
three were of Huguenot parentage : Henry Laurens, 
John Jay, and Elias Boudinot. In New York city 
and in its vicinity the names of the French refugees 
are amongst the most prominent ones. 



[^^1 



N 



Chapter Second 

F,W YORK is settled upon the west end of 
the island having that small arm of the 
sea which divides it from Long Island 
on the south side ot it, which runs away eastward to 
New England, and is navigable though dangerous. 
For about ten miles from New York is a place called 
Hel Gat which being a narrow passage, there runneth 
a violent stream both upon ebb and flood, and in the 
middle lieth some Islands of rocks, which the current 
sets so violently upon that it threatens present ship- 
wreck ; and upon the Hood is a large whirlpool which 
continually sends forth a hideous roaring, enough to 
artVight any stranger from passing any turther, and to 
wait for some charm to conduct him through ; yet 
to those that are well acquainted little or no danger, yet 
a place of great defence au;ainst any enemy coming in 
that way, which a small tortification would absolutely 
prevent and necessitate them to come in at the west 
end of Long Island by Sandy Hook, where Nutten 
Island doth force them within command of the Fort 
at New York, which is one of the best Pieces of De- 
fense in the north parts ot America. 

'' New York is built most of brick and stone and 
covered with red and black tile, and the land being 
high, it gives at a distance a pleasing aspect to the 
spectators. The bay upon the south side which joins 
to the sea, it is so fortified with bars of sands and 
shoals, that it is a sufficient defense against any enemy. 
Upon the south side of Long Island in the winter lie 
stores ot Whales and Crampusses, which the inhabi- 
tants begin with small boats to make a trade, catching 

I f2 I 



The Poet of the Revolution 

to their no small benefit. Also innumerable multitude 
of seals which make an excellent oil. They lie all the 
winter upon some broken marshes and beaches or bars 
of sand before mentioned, and might be easily got were 
there some skilful men would undertake it. Hudson 
River runneth by New York northward into the Coun- 
try towards the head of which is seated New Albany (a 
place of great trade with the Indians) betwixt which and 
New York being above one hundred miles is as good 
corn land as the world affords." 

Such was one of the first published accounts of the 
colony of New York, written much in the style of 
Mandeville, and it is probably as accurate a description 
of Manhattan Island and environs as may be found. 

The " hideous roaring " of Hell Gate has moder- 
ated its tone ; the seals that once basked upon the 
marshes of southern I.ong Island have taken them- 
selves to more congenial shores ; and the whales and 
grampuses that frolicked in its waters probably con- 
tinue their sports in quieter places. The bar, once 
such an obstacle to navigation, is there no longer ; it 
has subsided into the harbor bottom or else continues 
its " moanings " in some other locality, allowing ves- 
sels of the largest size to approach the city except at 
the lowest tide : this has proved of great benefit to the 
young colony. 

As a violent storm makes itself known by ripples 
breaking upon far distant shores, so the great disturb- 
ance in France occasioned by the revocation of the 
" Edict of Nantes " caused itself to be felt even in 
the insignificant little colony of New York; the ma- 
jority of whose inhabitants had scarcely recovered from 
the shock occasioned by the fact of being handed over, 
like so much merchandise, into the hands of another 
sovereign. 

During the years 1685-6 a continuous tide of im- 
migration poured into this obscure colony. Every 



Philip Frcricau 



vessel arriving in its port brought some of the ref- 
ugees; which tact caused a considerable amount of 
puffing in the long pipes of the Dutch inhabitants, and 
Q^i increased loquacity amongst the English portion of 
the colony. 

Not indeed that these good people were unwilling 
to extend the hospitality of the new world to their 
unfortunate fellow-creatures, there being quite a suf- 
ficiency of room for all ; but even the best-tempered 
people are apt to be discomposed at innovations in 
time-honored customs, and certainly many would be 
necessitated by the admission of so great a number 
of persons oi a different nationality. 

Indeed they had already commenced. The first 
and most important of which was a change in the 
established postal svstem. 

Although more than a decade of years had passed 
since the government of the colony as well as its 
name had been changed, its members still retained the 
characteristic trait of its former proprietors, — evi- 
denced in a degree of phlegmatic temperament rarely 
met with outside oi those in whose veins flow the 
blood of the settlers from Holland, or perhaps in 
others who, from constant and intimate association 
with them, had contracted the same peculiaritv. 

The New Yorkers were certainly a slow people. 
The " hideous roaring " of Hell Gate on the one side 
of them and the harbor bar on the other, may account 
for foreign commerce and domestic trade having passed 
to other ports, therebv increasing the importance of 
the sister colonies o\ Philadelphia and Boston : never- 
theless its best friends could call it nothing else but slow. 

In the year 1686 the discontinuance of their postal 
system called the " Coffee House Delivery," consid- 
ered sufficientlv good for the past one hundred years, 
was the immediate cause of the present disturbance of 
the even tenor of community life. 

\I4\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

One should have lived in the days of coffee houses 
to fully understand the inconvenience of this innova- 
tion. 

During the early days of the Dutch settlement, the 
population of Nieu Amsterdam being small and com- 
munication with the mother country limited, there had 
been but little epistolary correspondence, and that little 
mostly confined to merchants respecting their cargoes. 

It was the custom in those days to hoist the flag of 
the "Privileged West India Company" upon the flag- 
staff in the old fort, whenever a vessel appeared in 
sight ; and its orange and blue decoration was the signal 
for a general turnout of the masculine portion of the 
community to watch and speculate upon the approach 
of the ship. 

Upon its arrival, this correspondence was immediately 
consigned to its respective owners. Those who ex- 
pected any news of either personal or general nature 
received it by hand in the former case, and in the lat- 
ter contingency by word of mouth. 11^ perchance, 
there should be an unclaimed missive it was left in the 
care of some responsible person until an owner was 
found to claim it. 

In time, however, the captains of the vessels, find- 
ing sufficient to occupy them besides answering ques- 
tions and delivering letters, placed the latter, upon 
landing, in the most popular resort in those days, 
which was the coffee house. From there they were 
quickly claimed, read, and discussed over cups of fra- 
grant coffee. The finding of owners for unclaimed 
missives was greatly facilitated by the custom of fas- 
tening them upon a board hung in some conspicuous 
part of the public room. The endeavor to decipher 
the almost illegible, and in some cases all but un- 
decipherable, superscriptions helped to pass an idle 
moment away and also give basis for speculation. 

This custom had been continued even after the 

V^5\ 



Philip Freneau 



English had possession of the settlement, as in the 
coffee house met all the great and learned men of the 
place, as well as the wits and visiting celebrities ; and 
great was the flow of wit and reason over the favorite 
beverage, as they discussed the news that was inter- 
changed and circulated to an extent that would cast in- 
to the shade the far-flimed locutionary powers of the 
fairer portion of the community — but of course men 
will never admit this. 

In the year of '86 all this was changed, for an of- 
ficial order had been issued that all letters comins by 
ships should in future be sent direct to the Custom 
House; consequently the " Coffee House Delivery" 
became a thing of the past. 

American spirit, however, was not to be thus easily 
conquered; for when later on the British government 
started a post office, continental post was likewise started, 
and patronized to such an extent that the governmental 
one had very little to do. 

Although letters were no longer distributed there, 
the coffee houses still held their own in the public af- 
fection as places of general resort; holding amongst our 
ancestors the place the club houses of the nineteenth 
century do to their descendants. There, matters of 
great importance as well as matters of no importance 
at all were discussed, from wars and rumors of wars 
abroad to a runaway horse at home. Every ship ar- 
rival supplied a stock of news to be exchanged or re- 
tailed in greater or lesser quantities as suited the will 
of the giver and the moderate or immoderate desires 
of the recipient. 

When the subject of taxation without representation 
was discussed, and, later on, that of an independent 
government mooted, the meetings, formerly of a social 
nature, assumed a seriousness befitting the matters dis- 
cussed, and sittings were long and frequent. It was 
in the coffee house known as " The City Arms," which 

[ 7^ ] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

faced Bowling Green that opposition to the Stamp 
Act was first started. This old building stood until a 
comparatively late date, when it was taken down to 
make way for modern improvements. It was built 
partly of brick, the sides and rear being of wood, and 
was surrounded by a garden in which musical enter- 
tainments were given. Tradition says that Benedict 
Arnold lodged in this house after his treason. 

During British occupation, the coffee houses merely 
existed. Fraunce's held its own, however, although it 
was more of a hotel than coffee house proper. This 
old building is still standing at the corner of Broad 
and Pearl streets, and has been enlarged, it being at 
that time only three stories in height; it is of brick 
and was built in the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury by Mr. S. Delancey, who resided in it. It is still 
quite firm and may be identified by the green marble 
slab set in the corner, stating that within its walls Wash- 
ington delivered his parting address to the army. After 
that event it declined in importance. 

After the War of the Revolution, nationality seemed 
forgotten, and the descendants of the English, Dutch, 
and French met in a loving brotherhood born of 
their late common grievances ; and they chose for 
their place of mutual resort the " Merchants' Coffee 
House," which stood at the corner of Wall and Water 
streets. It is described as a three-story building, a 
store occupying the lower part. On the second floor 
was the " Long Room " in which public meetings were 
held. Here statesmen and politicians, merchants and 
literary men, discussed the affairs of the nation over 
their cups of coffee or tea. 

Amongst its frequenters might be seen the majestic 
figure of Washington and the angular one of Thomas 
Jefferson, his political opponent, the brilliant Alex- 
ander Hamilton and the intriguing Aaron Burr, Ben 
Franklin, who never contradicted any one, and Gouv- 
[-] [77] 



Philip Freneau 



erneur Morris, who found fault with every one except 
General Washington, the refined Chancellor Living- 
ston and that rock of sense, John Jay, George Clinton, 
the anti-Federal governor, and John Adams with royal- 
istic tendencies, John Morin Scott, the versatile lawyer, 
and William Bradford, the first public printer of New 
York, Hugh Gaines, the champion of the free press, 
and his insatiable satirist, Philip Freneau ; these, and 
many others perhaps as well known, found ample 
subject for present discussion and future conjecture. 
Here Washington was received upon his arrival in 
the city for the inaugural ceremonies. The Chamber 
of Commerce held here its first meetings, and the 
insurance business was started within its walls, as was 
also the first bank of New York. The compilation 
of a city directory, " the size of a Westminster Cate- 
chism," was herein essayed, and the " Loyal Sons 
of St. Andrew " and the " Grand Lodge of Free 
Masons," as well as many other associations, held 
their meetings inside its doors ; but with the removal 
of the national government to Philadelphia its sun 
sank to rise no more. 

The year 1686 was a marked one in the little 
colony. The mother country had seemed to awaken 
to the fact that its infant, and future prodigy, was still 
acting under the seal of Holland ; and forthwith a 
larger and more elaborate one was granted it. The 
same year Governor-General Dongan, who had ac- 
corded a kind reception to the Huguenots since 1683, 
deemed it necessary to extend the city limits to meet 
the requirements of the increased population ; he 
therefore ordered a survey of the northern boundary 
of the settlement, and a removal of its walls to a more 
remote locality. 

Hitherto the line of the present Wall Street had 
been defined by a palisaded work erected as a means 
of defence against the Indians; it extended the entire 



'The hi Revolution 

width of the islan. che shipyard of Rip Van 

Dam, now compriseu ^ Trinity churchyard, but at 
that time the western Hmit of the island, to " Bucther's 
Pen," adjoining the river on the eastern limit. At 
the head of Broadway was a large gate, which was 
closed every evening by the city watch; and nearer 
the river on the eastern side was another, called the 
"Water Gate," through which ran the road to the 
ferry to Breucklin, now Pearl Street. Beyond this 
gate stood the ferry-house, by the door of which hung 
a tin horn ; any one desiring to cross, by winding the 
horn, would summon a boatman to conduct him to 
the opposite shore, for the moderate sum of one-half 
cent. 

In many places the works had fallen down ; which 
rendered the duty of closing the gates at night quite 
a nominal one; except that the fact of doing so gave 
the inhabitants a certain sense of security ; which was 
a great thing in itself The guns too had disappeared, 
and the ditches and trenches were in a ruinous 
condition. 

By the governor's orders, the palisade was removed 
to the present line of Chamber Street, running from 
the river bank on the west side to the old Ferry house 
on the east side, now Catherine Street ; at every short 
distance a block-house was placed. The line of the 
old palisade was laid out into a street, which took its 
name from the wall that had once occupied its place. 
The streets, that same year, were paved, and they 
were also lighted by means of lanterns suspended from 
every seventh house ; and a watch patrolled them all 
the night, who sang out the hours as they passed. 

The city limits were at that time more circum- 
scribed than at the present ; Greenwich Street then 
formed the western boundary, and Pearl Street the 
eastern one. All ground beyond these streets has 
been made by filling in. 

{i9\ 



Phil,, ■■* 

Recently, in excavating 1^ er part of Front 

Street, the ribs of a vessel we , ^^arthed ; they were 
thought by some to have been tnose of the " Morning 
Star," a powder ship blown up in the harbor August 
7, 1778. This fact goes to prove the encroachment 
of the city upon the water limits. 

The French refugees were relegated to the eastern 
side of Broadway below Wall Street, and in the vi- 
cinity of the "Bucther's Pen," this being an unfavored 
part of the city, where the laboring portion of the 
community dwelt, and there were many unused lots. 

The frequent Indian incursions had caused the 
settlers to centre around the fort to such an extent 
as to endanger its safety; so much so that certain offi- 
cials complained to the home government that it 
might be easily scaled by placing ordinary-sized lad- 
ders upon the surrounding houses. 

This old tort deserves a word tor itself, it beinoj the 
first and oldest structure of the settlement ; and, accord- 
ing to the author already quoted, " one of the best 
Pieces of Defence in the north parts of America." I 
am inclined, however, to the opinion that Mr. Lamothe 
would have said of it the same as he said of an old 
fort on the Jersev side of the river, "It is no great 
things." 

This venerable piece of Dutch antiquity, that was 
destined never to hand down its name to our republi- 
can times, — indeed, to bear none for any great 
length of time, — was erected in the year 16 14 by the 
Nieu Amsterdamers as a defence from the attacks of 
the Indians. It is described as a mere palisaded 
work, but its form and dimensions have not been 
stated; it went bv the name of Fort Manhattan un- 
til 1626, when its increase in extent, and number ot 
inhabitants, caused a more substantial work to be con- 
structed, which upon completion was called Fort Am- 
sterdam. It is most probable that the plan of De 

[ 20 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Razieres was not carried out to the full extent of his 
designs, as we find Governor Stuyvesant alleging, as 
an excuse for ceding it so easily to the English, that 
it was an untenable place, and not fit to bear an assault 
from European firearms. I'he walls, furthermore, on 
its northern and northeastern part, although much 
higher than those of its other sides, were, nevertheless, 
lower than the ground beyond. So much higher was 
the latter, he added, that people sitting on it could see 
the very soles of the shoes of those who might be 
standing on the esplanade, or bastions of the fort. In- 
deed, its walls for some eight or ten years were merely 
ramparts of earth, from eight to ten feet high. The 
buildings within it, occupied by the officers of the gar- 
rison, were composed of planks, or bark only, with 
roofs of reeds. 

In 1633 Governor Van Twiller came to Nieu Am- 
sterdam invested with full power to better this state 
of things. Under his administration a guard-house 
and barracks were constructed, and a wind-mill erected 
for grinding the grain for the garrison. A substantial 
brick house took the place of the former governmental 
building, which lasted during the successive administra- 
tions of the Dutch dynasty. 

The condition of the walls of the fort, however, 
does not seem to have been improved, as we find the 
governor in his Council of 1647 deliberating as to the 
advisability of having them repaired. This was to be 
accomplished by means of " stones laid in mortar to 
make of it a lasting work ; " and for this purpose it 
was suggested that every male inhabitant between the 
ages of sixteen and sixty should devote twelve days 
of labor in the year; or give instead, the sum of eighty 
cents per day. 

Within the fort and adjoining the gubernatorial 
mansion there stood a stone church of peculiar struc- 
ture, consisting of two peaked roofs with a steeple be- 

i2l\ 



Philip Freneau 



tween them. Beyond this edifice stood the prison, 
and further on the guard-house, barracks, etc. These 
buildings occupied the eastern side of the fort ; on 
the western side was the gate, defended by four small 
brass cannon. 

On the southwest bastion of the fort, at the junc- 
tion of the present State and Stone streets, stood the 
windmill and also a large flagstaff, upon which floated 
the colors of the "Privileged West India Company" 
whenever a vessel might appear in sight. By the river 
outside the fort stood the gallows and whipping-post. 

The governors varied in their way of living as well as 
in their manner of entertaining, — these being influenced 
to a great extent by their former social position in the 
mother country. As each incumbent furnished the 
gubernatorial mansion himself, it varied considerably in 
appearance under each administration. At times the 
state carriage with gay livery would drive in and around 
the fort, and the evenings were enlivened by music from 
the band, and other entertainments. 

The fashionable part of the community resided along 
the lower part of Broadway facing Bowling Green, or 
on the environs of the fort. 

In 1664 the fort passed into the hands of the Eng- 
lish, and was called by them Fort James, in honor of 
the Duke of York, and a battery was added by the 
river. The interior was likewise greatly improved, and 
the mansion rebuilt. 

In 1673 the Dutch regained possession of it, and its 
name was changed to that of William Henrick, which 
name it bore for an entire year. Under Governor 
Andros the name was changed again to Fort James. 
This governor erected an armory between the mansion 
and church ; also a stockade around the exterior to pro- 
tect it from wild animals. 

In 1683 Thomas Dongan, an Irish Catholic, for- 
merly Lieutenant Governor of Tangiers, and afterwards 

\32\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Earl of Limerick, was appointed governor of the 
colony. Dongan was a highly accomplished gentleman, 
upright in all his dealings, and firm and judicious in 
his policy. His strict integrity won the affection of 
the people, and caused him to be one of the most 
popular of all the royal governors. 

Governor Dongan's first act upon entering his ad- 
ministration was to summon the freeholders to the 
fort to elect representatives to meet him in council, 
which resulted in giving to the colony its first Legis- 
lative Assembly. This Assembly was to consist of 
the governor, ten councillors, and seventeen repre- 
sentatives chosen by the people, and its first act was 
to give to the province its first Charter of Liberties. 
By this charter it was decreed that the supreme legis- 
lative power should be permanently vested in the 
General Council and people, met in general assembly. 
Second : that each freeholder and freeman might vote 
for representatives without any restriction being laid 
upon his vote. Third : that no freeman should be 
punished save by the judgment of his peers, and that 
all trials should be held by jury. Fourth : that no 
tax should be imposed, under any pretence whatever, 
without the consent of the Assembly. Fifth : that no 
martial law should exist. And sixth : that no person 
professing belief in Jesus Christ should, at any time 
or in any way, be made to suffer on account of 
difference of opinion in matters of religion. 

This charter still forms the basis of the municipal 
rights and privileges of New York. 

These liberal measures caused great rejoicings, the 
more so because of the great unhappiness accruing 
from the tyranny of the late Governor Andros. 

In 1689, James IL having been dethroned, the fort 
was seized by the train-bands or militiamen ; and one 
of their captains was appointed to hold it until the 
will of the Crown should be known. 



Philip Freneau 



Leisler having been the one selected, he took pos- 
session not alone of the fort, but of all the preroga- 
tives of the administration. He changed the name 
of the fort to that of William, which it retained for 
the period of two years. During his administration, 
a half-moon fortification was made on the west side 
of the fort ; upon which seven guns were placed to 
defend the landings of both rivers. 

Leisler, having had a taste of power, desired to 
retain it, and refused to surrender possession of the 
fort when required to do so. He was in consequence 
immured in the very prison he once commanded, and 
was finally executed as a rebel. 

The fort now had the name Henry added to it. 
The old Dutch church was demolished and an English 
one was erected on its site. 

In 1702 the name was again changed to that of 
Anne, which it bore until the Georges ascended the 
throne. It never had another. 

In 1741 the mansion was burned down and the fire 
was attributed to the slave population, the famous 
" Negro Plot " having originated in this year. The 
mansion was rebuilt and an additional battery added 
to the fort; but in 1773, while Governor Tryon was 
the incumbent, the building again took fire and was 
entirely consumed in two hours' time. 

At the close of the Revolutionary War, the entire 
fortification was removed, to make room for the presi- 
dential mansion, which was planned to face Bowling 
Green. At that time the exterior appearance of the 
fort was that of a green sloping bank, about fourteen 
feet high ; and above it arose the walls to an additional 
height of twenty feet. A portion of the materials was 
used in building the mansion. 

In the early days of the colony the houses were 
mostly built of bricks brought from Holland. These 
were of diflFerent colors and set in patterns and glazed. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

the prevailing colors being red and black. The ends 
of the houses always faced the streets ; the gables, ris- 
ing by successive steps to a point, were always sur- 
mounted by a weathercock. Under the projecting 
eaves was a " stoep," on either side of which were 
seats adapted to social intercourse. The lower win- 
dows of the houses were made quite small, as a precau- 
tion against the incursions of the Indians. 

The interiors of the houses were kept scrupulously 
clean ; the planed floors were well scrubbed and 
sanded, and traced with delicate designs ; the oaken 
rafters were polished and carved in devices and mot- 
toes ; and the doors were perforated with bull's-eyes 
and well scrubbed with sand. 

Furniture, in those days, was more for use than 
comfort or ornament. Chairs were high-backed and 
rush-bottomed, and made of red walnut or mahogany. 
Tables were round, and turned by means of a pivot to 
a fan shape and were usually placed against the wall 
when not in use. Couches were covered with worsted 
damask, and clocks extended from floor to ceiling. 
In the corner of the best room there usually stood a 
buffet with glass doors, containing, as well as display- 
ing, the family plate and china ; conspicuous amongst 
which was a huge punch-bowl, also tiny cups and sau- 
cers, and tea and coffee pots with silver handles and 
spouts. Sideboards were not introduced until after 
the Revolution, and were very small. 

Stoves were unknown ; but open fireplaces, with 
shining fire-dogs, gave a cheerful appearance to the 
rooms. Small bits of carpet, usually imported by the 
family, were sparingly laid in the " best room." 
Coaches were rare, there being for some time only 
four or five in the entire settlement. 

As time wore on and means of communication with 
Europe became less difflcult, the wealthier settlers were 
enabled to import their furniture ; and carpets began 



Philip Freneau 



to make their appearance in most of the better class of 
dwelHngs, which soon began to assume a degree of 
luxury hitherto unknown. 

A certain John Miller, chaplain to the fort, seems 
to have kept the statistics of the colony. He com- 
puted the number of families in New York, in the year 
1692, to have been three thousand. Of these, one half, 
he says, were Dutch and rich, but sparing; the other 
half was composed of English and French, of whom the 
former outranked the latter in numbers, and were 
neither rich nor economical, and the last mentioned 
were poor and necessarily penurious.^ 

This worthy dominie depicts things from a rather 
dismal standpoint. He calls the inhabitants an un- 
godly people, who have no care for heavenly things ; 
but instead turn everything to drink or money to buy 
it with. " Even the crops," he says, " are usually 
such as will yield some kind of liquor, cider, perry, 
etc." 

A more cheerful writer of the gentler sex, on a visit 
from Boston, describes the same city as " a delightful 
place; where the inhabitants are courteous and hospi- 
table; where families interchange invitations to dinners 
and suppers, at which times the tables are crowded 
with provisions ; where the families mostly dine at 
one o'clock, and never later than two in the day ; and 
games of cards engross the post-prandial hours of the 
more leisurely part of the community." 

There were no theatres, to be sure, as in Boston ; but 
concerts were given by amateurs, and there were as- 
semblies for dancing which met in a large hall, the 
entrance being by subscription. As unanimous con- 
sent from all the members was necessary to secure a 
membership, the affair was very select. At these as- 
semblies the stately minuet and sprightly cotillion were 

1 The West India Company incorporated Nieu Amsterdam as a city m 
1653, and modelled its government after that of Amsterdam. 

\26^ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

the order of the evening, the latter dance having been 
introduced by the French. 

Marriages and funerals were public ; but notes of 
invitation to them were issued. The funerals were 
followed by long processions on foot, as no public 
conveyances were used prior to the year 1789, and 
very few families owned a "leathern conveniency " as 
Robert Murray styled his carriage. 

Without a doubt the French refugees bore a promi- 
nent part in the great change in the colony, and they 
undoubtedly infused new life into its veins. 

As we have said, the Dutch were a slow people. 
They were noted for the slowness, perseverance, and 
the plodding tenor of their lives; they had got into a 
groove and they steadily persevered in it. Their 
social life had always been simple, domestic, and 
unostentatious. 

The English were formal, and held strict ideas of 
caste, which consisted of a lower, middle, and upper 
class ; the barriers separating each were impregnable 
and insurmountable. Some of the wealthier Dutch 
families held aloof from strangers, and formed a dis- 
tinct class by themselves ; but the majority met the 
British officers and attaches at public entertainments ; 
and after a time adopted their idea of caste. 

The Huguenots were naturally romantic, vivacious, 
and chivalric; and, freed somewhat from the over- 
shadowing vigilance of their founder's spirit, and hav- 
ing no party feeling like the others, they formed, as it 
were, a bond of union between them. 

The original settlers, finding no reason for alarm 
at the inroad upon their hospitality, and shaken out 
of the narrow groove in which the course of their 
existence had formerly run, could not but acknowledge 
the beneficial effect of the leaven from France. Im- 
mediately upon their arrival, the Huguenots had 
commenced to ply their industries, and very soon that 



Philip Frencau 



portion of the city which, through force of circum- 
stances, they had been compelled to accept — the 
vicinity of Bucther's Pen, it having, in all probability, 
moved away with the city's limits — gave evidence 
of their thrift and consequent prosperity. 

Moreover, the first destitute refugees had been fol- 
lowed in course ot time by others ; who had been more 
fortunate in bringing with them some of their patri- 
mony. Nearly every ship of those that arrived once 
a month from England brought over families of 
wealthy, and even noble ancestry. 

The refugees ot the better class had mostly eno;ao;ed 
in mercantile or commercial pursuits. They had 
erected comfortable and even handsome dwellings, and 
the elegance and refinement of their private life caused 
the aristocracy amongst the Dutch and English to wel- 
come them to their entertainments, and to take pleas- 
ure in being entertained by them. 

The style of architecture likewise had greatly im- 
proved. Pearl Street, at that time the first one west 
of Broadway, and which between State and Whitehall 
streets was extremely narrow, contained some hand- 
some dwellings. 

At Coenties Slip stood the municipal buildings, up 
to the time of their removal to \Vall Street, in the 
early part of the eighteenth century. There, also, 
stood a celebrated inn for the reception of visitors to 
the city, this spot having been chosen on account of 
the exceeding beautv of its prospect, and its aristocratic 
surroundings. 

At the slip. Pearl Street curved to the north, widen- 
ing considerably at Hanover Square ; it also changed 
its name at different stages in its course, assuming 
first that of Dock Street, then Hanover Square, 
Queen and finally Magazine Street. 

On this street the gable ends ceased to face the 
street, and " stoeps " and benches yielded to roof 

[ -'<? 1 



The Poet of the Revolution 

balconies, which formed pleasant and more retired 
localities for rest, recreation, or sociability. From 
these elevated pleasure gardens might be seen the 
beautiful shores of Nutten ^ and Nassau Islands,'^ with 
Staten Island and the highlands of the North, or 
Hudson, River forming a background. 

Here one might enjoy at evening the fresh ocean 
breezes wafted over the lovely bay, and from the 
Sound through South River ;^ and the gentle lapping 
of the water in Countess' Slip* made itself heard in 
the quietness of the night. 

In course of time Bowling Green and Lower Broad- 
way, which had been par excellence the aristocratic 
part of the city, gave precedence to their rival Pearl 
Street, just above Hanover Square. 

This square was then the fashionable shopping 
locality ; and there might be seen old Dutch and 
high English dames, mingling with the fair daughters 
of sunny France, to admire the fashions from over 
the sea — six months old or more. 

Dress at this period was greatly attended to by 
both sexes, — the ladies attiring themselves quite ele- 
gantly, and the young men appearing Beau Brummels 
of a Sunday, with coats of every color and indeed of 
several colors combined. The skirts of the coats 
were frequently lined with silk and satin of delicate 
hues, and the collars were of velvet or silk, of quite 
different colors from the garment. Sometimes, indeed, 
instead of collars the coats were finished off with sev- 
eral small capes. It is probable the young men were 
as frequently met in Flanover Square as were their 
lady friends, mothers, sisters, and loves — on business 
matters of course, for men are never frivolous. 

In 1754 Mr. Walton,'' who had accumulated a for- 

^ Governor's Island. "^ Long Island. 

8 East River now. * Cocntics Slip. 

•■' Mr. Walton married a daughter of Mr. Dclancey. 

[ 29 J 



Philip FrencciN 



tune in foreign trade, built, in Pearl Street, a house of 
such elegance as to compete with the Kenedy mansion, 
No. I Broadway. Its fame, we are told, reaching the 
mother country, was the innocent cause of preventing 
any scruples from arising in the maternal breast, in 
regard to the taxation of her infant colonies; for, she 
argued, if provincial children can build for themselves 
such elegant mansions, they may well afford to pour 
some of their surplus gold into the maternal coffers. 

This house was built of yellow Holland brick; and 
its spacious gardens bordered on South River. In 
this residence, in after years, Antien Genet wedded 
the daughter of Governor Clinton. Later on, in No. 
119 of this street, General Moreau * lived when an 
exile in this country ; and his familv remained in it 
while he fought for the Allied Army. After his death 
his widow resigned it into the hands of the executors, 
and there was a sale of his beautiful furniture and 
curios. A friend'^ ot the writer's has still in her pos- 
session the elegant crvstal chandelier that hung in 
the drawing-room ot his house. 

The wealthv merchant jumel, who loaned of his 
fortune so largely to France in her need, also resided 
in this street. 

AlthouG^h the lower portion of Manhattan Island 
was composed of sandy soil, it nevertheless bore a good 
supplv of elm, maple, and sycamore trees, as also Nor- 
mandy poplars, that stood like grim sentinels along the 
streets. 

1 There is ;in amusing anecdote related ot" General Moreau while in 
this country. He was invited to a concert, during -.>hich a piece was 
sung, the refrain being "to-morrow, to-morrow." The general, under- 
standing Fnglish but imperfoctlv, supposed tiie song was composed in his 
honor and the refrain to be the repetition of his name ; he consequently 
thought it obligatory to acknowledge the mark of respect. The audience 
were consequentlv astonished by seeing him rise and bow most respect- 
fully on all sides as often as the refniin was repeated. Many of them 
did not know the illustrious man by sight. 

« Mrs. Julius G. Caryl. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

In 1732 walks were laid out in Bowling Green, and 
bordered with shade trees ; it then took the place of a 
modern park. Shortly after, however, fashion changed 
its location to Pearl street, and thus began its march 
up town which it continues to the present time. 



\3r^ 



Chapter Third 



ALTllOUliH ;i French congregation had been 
established in the early days of the colonv, it 
had ceased to exist before the year 1678 ; 
or that in which the Rev. Peter Daille, the first min- 
ister ot' whom we liase any record, began to hold 
French services. It is not probable that the first con- 
gregation had any distinct edifice, as Mr, Daille was 
obliged to make use of the old church in the fort ; he 
holding his services between those of the Dutch in the 
forenoon, and the English in the afternoon. 

In the year 1687 the Rev. Pierre Peiret arrived 
amongst a band ot refiigees, with the intention of 
ministerino; to their spiritual interests. As their 
number was constantlv increasing, it was deemed fit- 
ting, and even necessary that thev should have a 
church for themselves. Mr. Peiret consequentlv 
proceeded to erect a small building on Marketfield 
Street. It was a verv humble beginning, certainlv, as 
its entire length was only forty-eight feet nine inches, 
bv a front width of twentv-seven feet seven inches. 
A passao;e taken oft' from the width rendered the 
greater part of the building onlv twenty-five feet wide. 
Upon Leisler's usurpation of the administration, 
the Huguenots divided into two parties; one of 
these beino; headed bv Mr. Peiret, the other by Mr. 
Daille. The former partv opposed Leisler's adminis- 
tration ; but the latter favored it to such a degree as 
to endanrjer his adherents in their efforts to have him 
released from prison, and saved from death bv execution. 
Partv feelino; ran so h\fy\\ that the French cono;reg:i- 
tion never aoniin became thorouL^hlv united. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

After Leisler's death, Mr. Daille removed to Bos- 
ton ; and it is probable that his representation of the 
state of affairs in the New York congregation helped 
in a great measure to cause the misunderstanding 
between Mr. Gabriel Bernon and the French con- 
gregation in that city. 

The colony by this time, counted some two hun- 
dred families; and, although all of them had not 
located in New York city, sufficient had done so to 
cause the population to be about one-fourth French. 

Before Governor Dongan's withdrawal from the 
administration, the refugees had petitioned him for the 
right of free trade in the colonies; and he, having for- 
warded the petition to the king, had received a favor- 
able answer. 

In 1689 the administration had devolved upon 
Richard Coole, Earl Bellemont; who, upon assuming 
control of the colony, sided with the Leislerites or 
people's party ; thus rendering himself very unpopular 
with Mr. Peiret and the majority of the French con- 
gregation. This unpopularity was increased by the 
belief that he had misrepresented some matters, 
thereby injuring their interests with the Board of 
Trade. So bitter was their feeling, that he found it 
necessary to take some means of conciliating them, to 
regain their support; which he recognized as very 
necessary for the success of his administration, the 
French having become important factors in the colony, 
by the rapid increase of their numbers. 

Being on intimate terms of friendship with Gabriel 
Bernon, the founder of the Huguenot colony in New 
Oxford, Massachusetts, Bellemont thought to gain 
the support of Mr. Peiret's party through his influence. 
Inviting him, therefore, to New York for the osten- 
sible purpose of consulting with him about matters 
relating to the Crown, he laid before Bernon the 
opposition he experienced from the French congrega- 



Fhilip FrcHcau 



tion ; causing it to appear like rebellion against the 
king. 

JVlislcd bv bis representations, and acting in good 
faith, Hernon endeavored to become a mediator 
between the two parties ; and for this purpose met 
Mr. Peiret and the principal members of the dis- 
art'ected congregation. Expressing his deep regret 
for the feeling existing between the several nationali- 
ties and the administration, he urged the French con- 
gregation to cultivate a more kindly feeling. 

To his exhortations they replied that they would 
prefer to cjo to Mississippi than to live under Belle- 
mont's authority. Bernon, now fully convinced of 
their disafl'ection, returned to Boston chagrined at his 
want of success in his pacific endeavors. Before 
leaving New York, however, he essayed one more 
attempt to remedy matters. Penning a letter full of 
reirret at their conduct and expressive of his hopes for 
their amendment, he let't it with his host to be given 
to Mr. Peiret after his own departure. 

The minister, as well as the congregation, conscious 
that they had given no just cause for offence in the 
bee;inning, and that the tault lav rather on the part of 
the governor, waited upon the latter in a body, and, 
laving before him the subject of their grievance, pro- 
tested their innocence. 

Bellemont, like a shrewd politician, recognizing his 
mistaken way of gaining his end, strove to pacify 
them. Disowning his share in the transaction, he left 
Bernon to bear the brunt of their displeasure as having 
niisinterpreted the sentiments of the governor towards 
them. 

But notwithstanding his fair face in the matter, 
Bellemont was greativ displeased with the Hugue- 
nots ; and he took the petty way of revenging himself 
by suppressino; the aiuiual stipend granted by the 
government for the support of the minister. 

I J/] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

The bitterness between all parties only terminated 
at the death of BcUcmont in 1701. 

Gabriel Bernons letter to the Consistory of the French Church in 
New Tork^ i6(j(j. 

Ni;w York 25'" Murs, 1699. 

Messieurs, Premier, partir, dc ccttc Villc, Jc mc trouvc 
oblige commc etaiit tous freres Refugie/-, de vous dire, <jvc 
Monseigneur Le conite de Bellemout ma fait venir ici pour 
discouvrir, avec son Excellence, dc ccrtaines, affaires qui Re- 
gardc Ic service du Roy. Aprcs qvoy son Excellence moi 
aussy entretenu de la bonne volonte (|vel a pour vous; (jvci 
voit avec douleur L'animosite c(jntre les Englais les francais ct 
hollandois. Que son Excellence sc fait du plaisir de Ramenir 
avec clemence ceux qvi s'cloigne du D'voir, J3'eu a sa majeste 
et a L'etat, &c. Que son Excellence na favorise aucun parti: 
qvel n'a d'acception (|ve |)our Les bons sujcts <hi R(jy Guil- 
Icaume puis qve son Excellence na pour Hut Principal (|vc Ic 
plus service de Dieu la gloirc du Roy, ct la prosperite dcs 
Peuples ; son P^xcellence nous exhorte comme de bons sujcts 
de nous aymer afin (|u'etant unis D'amitie nous soyons fiddle 
a son Majeste pour letjvcl nous D'vons prier Dieu debenirses 
cntreprises ct Luy donncr unc vie Longvc et heurcusc. Amen. 

Pour moi J'ai commc vous pour La Religion, A Bandonnc 
Les liicns ct notrc patrie, ainsy cjve plusicurs dc nos freres 
Rcfugicz en divers cJidroits du monde, nous O'vons, chaq'un 
(Ic nous, nous soumcttre sous J^c govvcrncment ou nous 
Rencontrons. Ccst pour nous un grand Bonhcur ct un 
grand honncur dc nous povvoir dire ct Rcclamer bons 
sujcts dc notrc sovvcirain Ic Roy (Jtiillaunic, qvc puis qvc Dieu 
nous Commande dc nous assujcttir au puissance Royale, (pi'on 
nc pcut avoir trop de veneration pour un sy grand, sy bon et 
sy I'Lustrc prince, n'y trop dc Respect pour scs govvcrncurs 
qvi nous Lc Reprcscnte: On pcut qvcl(|vc Lois Bicn avec 
Respect sc familliariser avec Les puissance; mais ; on nc pcut 
Jamais sans Crime, Pasquinir ou fclonir L'Autoritc Royale 
ceux qvi agissent par fclonie et Pasqvinerie qve Les Loys 
d'Engleterrc Condamnc, mcprisc L'Etat &:c. {sic'). J'ay vuc 
avec Douleur qvel(|u'un s'cloigncr du D'voir qve nous D'vons 
a son Excellence Monsigncur Le Comte de Bellemont. 



Philip brcricau 



Ne crovez pas qvc je sols assey tcmorairc pour meriger en 
Scnsfur, ny pour vous Ricn Prescrirc. Mais j'ai Crcu en frerc 
pouvoir vous ilirc nion vcritabli* scinimtMits ceite Divcrsitc de 
goust, s'accordcr ; \aus ctcs pour Mischipipi ? Jc suis pour 
Road 'Island. Jc vous offre nies services La et par tout 
aillcurs. )o tcrav tousjours gloirc dc vous assurer, Q\'e Jc 
suis avcc Respect, 

Messieurs, 

Votrc trcs humble ct tres obeissant scrvitcur 
ct tVerc Ret'ugie, 

Gabriel Bernon. 
Messieurs D'L'Eglise francoisc, 
do l.i novollo York..' 

Answer of the Consistory of the French Church in Netv lor it to 
Gabriel Bernon^ i6gg. 

York, Lc 2 2<" May, 1699. 
Monsieur, V'T Letrc qve vous avex ecrite a Ml Jamain 
nous oblige a romprc Le silence sur un sujct qvc nous avions 
resolu de laisser dans I'oublir c'cst unc mcchante Libellc qve 
M'. Ciabriel Bernon (j/V) laissa icy en partant cntre les mains 
dc son bote, avcc ordre de la rendrc aprcs son depart a mess" 
de TEglisc tranf^^oise da ce lieu, nous le regardames comme la 
production d'un esprit malade et prive dc jugem' plustot digne 
de pitie qve d'indignation et nous creumcs qu'au lieu de le 
rclcvcr il valoit mieux Tenscvclir sous le voile de Charitc, 
mais commc il a lui meme public sa hontc en distribuant 
des Copies de cet ccrit nous a\ ons lieu de croire qu'il 
avait etc pousse a le taire par un autre motif qve celui de 
riiuliscretion qvi lui est si naturcllc ct qvc nous povvons 
prendre Taccusation qu'il fait contre nous comme unc calomnie 
dont il a voulu salir ce troupeau de rcfugic/, vous trouverez 
dont bon s'il vous plait qve nous dision qvelqve chose pour 
(.f;V^ notrc Justification et qvc nous vous addrcssion ccs Lignes 
tant pour vous artermir dans Ic sentiment qvc vous tcmoigncz 
avoir dc son procede, qve pour dctromper ceux qvi en ont 
en de mauvaise impressions contre nous, vous priant de les f;iire 
voir a mess"?? du consistoire de votrc Eglise et a tons ceux qui 
pen vent etre prcvenus. 

' The Hiii;iiciiots in France and America, vol. ii., p. iiS. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Ccttc hommc suppose comme vous avcz veu dans la Copic 
dc la Icttrc qu'il vous a remise (jve nous sommes ennemis du Roy 
tratrcs au Gouvernement ct violateurs du Respect qvi est deu 
a Monseig \. Le Conite dc Ik-llemont et il nous fait espcrer dc 
trovver I'inipuiiitc dc nos Crimes dans la Clcmence de cc 
seigneur pourveu qvc nous rcntrions dans notre devoir, et il 
nous a fait entendre qve n'ayant rien peu gagner sur nous par 
CCS Exhortations de ces Crimes odieux dont le moindre merite 
sans doute un chatiment severe il a etc oblige de laisscr cette 
Lcttre pour tenter d'obtcnir par son ccrit ce qu'il navait peu 
obtenir par ces paroles et qve ce qu'il a fait a cet egard il la 
fait par ordre de Monseigneur le Govverneur. 

Mais premierement il est faux qvc le Govverneur lui aye 
Jamais donne aucun ordre sur cela et nous le soutenons har- 
diment parceqvenous etans presenter deux fois a son Excellence 
en corps de Consistoirc accompagney de (jvelque chefs de 
famille pour nous elancir la dessus elle a eu la bontc dc nous 
declarer qvelle n'avait point aux parler de cela et qve si elle 
cut connu (jvcl' qu'un coupable de ces crimes elle I'avait pour- 
suivre scion la rigeur de Lois sans imputer au corps le crime 
dcs particuliers, qve les expressions dc cette Ictre etaient 
horrible et qvc M^ Bernon avait ma! fait de rendre sa Letre 
publiqve il ne s(^'aurait dont des avoucr qve nous ne soyons en 
droit de la revetir du litre de menteur et qve sa hardicssc a 
mcntir ne soit d'autant plus impudcntc, qu'il commet I'honneur 
d'unc personne pour laqvelle il nous accuse de manqver de 
respect, cependant c'est par le profond respect qve nous avons 
pour Monseigneur Le Comtc de Bellemont qvc nous n'avons 
point voulu entreprcndre de nous justific par cette ecrit 
qu'apres en avoir obtcnu la permission de son Excellence. 

II est encore faux qu'il ait tenu a aucune de nous pendant 
le sejour qu'il a fait ici, des discours ; nous ne disons pas 
semblables a ceux de sa letre, mais approchans en aucune 
manierc s'il nous eut veu veritablement engage/, dans Ics 
Crimes dont il nous accuse ou qve I'imbccilitc de son esprit 
cut pris dcs phantomcs pour des realitez, il devait nous 
reprocher nos rebclions et nous representcr nos devoirs cntant 
de rencontres ou nous avons ou avec lui dcs conversations 
longues ct familicrcs ct dcgagc de toute craintrc : au contrairc 
ayant ete soub^onne d'avoir rapportc a my Lord qu'un de nos 

[J7J 



Philip Freneau 



fran^ois avail tenu des discours trop libre touchant le Gov- 
vernenient il entreprit de se justiHer ; et n'oublia rien pour 
eloigner tout le soupcon. N'etait ce pas la le Lieu de s'ovvrir 
et de nous dire ce qu'il a ecrit cependant il na la point fait ni 
rien d'approchant, mais voulant pourtant nous charger et nous 
rendre odieux en nous imputant des Crimes dont il a bien veu 
qve nous n'etions pas coupable, puis qu'il na ose nous les 
reproacher par les vove naturelles, il a laisse cette libelle 
difamatoire entre les mains de son hote avec un Ordre premier 
de ne point nous la rendre qu'apres son depart semblables a 
ces laches assassins qve se cachent afin d'oter la vie a ceux qu'ils 
n'aiment point le voila dont deux foix a menteur sur un meme 
sujet, pour le fond de son accusation il ni eut Jamais rien de 
plus contraire a la verite, il n'est pas necessaire qu'il nous 
passer des Lemons pour nous remontrer I'obligation ou nous 
sommes d'honorer le Roy Guilluame nous le scauons et nous 
serions les gens du mondes les plus ingrat et les plus uniqve si 
nous manqvions en ce devoir car nous recoinnaissons qve nous 
sommes redevable a cette incomparable Prince de tout le repos 
dont nous jouissons et qve Dieu la fait naitre pour la Conser- 
vation de son Eglise et pour la Consolation de tant de pavvres 
qui ont echape au persecuteurs de france mais on de doit pas 
craindre qve nous Tombions dans cette ingratitude nous serions 
bien plus capable de faire notre idole de ce grand et glorieux 
monarque qve d'oblier la veneration la Hdelite et I'obbeisance 
qve nous La devons. 

II n'est pas non plus necessaire qu'il nous avertisse qve 
nous devons respecter ses Gouverneurs, nous le scauons et 
nous le practiquons comment pourrons nous ne pas avoir 
du respect pour des personnes qui represente dans Leur 
Govern.'. — Le Roy Guillaume qui est I'object de rout ce qve 
nous pouvons concevoir d'estime, d'amour, et de veneration 
dans I'ordres des affaires humaines, nous respectons Alonseig^ Le 
Comte de Bellemont et nous honnorons sa personne et son 
charactere et nous receverons toujours ses ordres avec soumis- 
sion. Pour le Gouvernment nous nous y sommes toujours 
soumis avec plaisir tout parceque la profession du Christian- 
isme nous y oblige qve parceqve le Comparant au Gouveren' de 
france sous laqvel nous avons gemi si longtemps, nous le 
trouvons extremement doux et humain et proportione au droits 

l38\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

de la nature nous protestons qve nous serons toujours prest a 
la defFcndre de tout notrc pouvoir contre tous ceux qvi entre- 
prendront de le troubler ce sont la nos veritable sentiments 
opposez comme vous le voyez au accusations de M"!. Bernon 
et nous ne doutons pas qve tout cc qu'il y a d'honnetc Gens 
ne fut disposcz a nous rendre ce tcmoinage s'il etait necessaire 
comme il nous fut rendu il ny a qve peu de Jours par le 
procureur du Roy qvi recconut devant monseig'^.le Gov- 
vern*;. lors que nous pleignisme a son Excellence des accusa- 
tions de M'. Bernon qve nous nous etions toujours montrcz 
fort afFectioncz au Gouvernment et qve le Roy n'avait pas de 
meilleurs sugets qve nous en EfFet si il en avait quelqun parmi 
nous qui parut anime des pensees qve cette homme nous 
impute nous le rctrencherions de notre Corps comme un 
monstre indigne de notre Societe nous vous prions Mons'i.de 
les faire connaistre a tous ceux a qvi les discours de M"!. Bernon 
peuvent avoir donne des preventions contre nous, c'est la 
toute la vengeance qve nous voulons prendre de lui encore 
qu'il nous soit fort dur de nous voir accusez par un homme 
qvi porte avec nous Ic titre d'Exilc pour la religion et qvi veut 
icy nous faire de feintes protestations d'amitie nous lui pardon- 
nons de bon coeur lui soubsistant une Conduite droite a I'avenir 
et un judgement plus solide et a vous la Benediction de 
Dieu &c 

(sic) 
Monsieur Votre &c Peiret Minhtre 

Jean Barbarie 
Elie Boudinot 
Paul Droilet 
Gabriel Le Boyteulx 

The family of Bernon,^ or, de Bernon, as it was 
known in France, was originally from Burgundy, 
and is one of the most ancient families of the 
kingdom. It claims its descent from the younger 
branch of the Counts of Burgundy, several of whose 
princes have borne the name from the year 895. Its 

^ As Bernon was a connection of Freneau's family, we give a short 
sketch of his life and labors for his countrymen in America. 



Philip Freneau 



arms ^ from the fourteenth century were borne by the 
Counts of Ma9on. 

That branch of the family of which Gabriel Bernon, 
the refugee, was a descendant, has or had, in its pos- 
session all the documents necessary to prove its iden- 
tity from the time of Raoul de Bernon. This house 
is allied to some of the most illustrious families of 
France. It has rendered distinguished services to its 
country, and has numbered amongst its members 
superior officers of great merit in the army, as well as 
in the navy. Several of its names are found in the 
" Livre d'Or de la Noblesse" as belonging to the 
Order of Saint Louis. 

The name of de Bernon is found amongst those of 
the families that were represented in the Crusades in 
the year 1191. In the sixteenth century it is seen 
contributing towards the ransom of the sons of 
Francois ist, who were held as hostages by Spain after 
the battle of Pavia. It also sent money by the hands 
of Duplessis-Mornay to Henri Quatre, to assist him 
in his efforts to obtain the throne. 

Besides the claims to nobility entailed by their 
Burgundian ancestors, the Bernons of La Rochelle 
possess still another claim to distinction, several of the 
mayors of that city having been furnished by them. 
To have held the office of mayor of that city, accord- 
ing to the customs of the time, conferred rank, not 
alone to the person who had held the office, but to 
his heirs forever. 

Raoul de Bernon, who served with distinction in 
the wars of his time, married Charlotte de Talmont 
and their son, Nicolas, was mayor of La Rochelle in 
the year 1357. His son held the same office in 1398. 
Jean Thomas, son of the latter, founded the two 

^ Azur a un chevron d' argent surmonte d'lin croissant de meme, 
accompagne en chef de deux etoiles d'or et en point d'un ours passant 
dcmeme. 

{40\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

gentilhommieres or manors of Bernoniere and Bernon- 
ville, the former deriving its name from a small 
chateau near Pouzauges in Poitou, now the depart- 
ment of Vendee, and the latter, from a chateau on the 
Isle de Re. Jean Thomas had a son named Andre, 
who had two sons : Pierre, sieur de la Bernoniere et 
risleau, and Jean. 

Jean's son Andre married Catherine du Bouche 
in 1545, and their son Leonard married Fran9oise 
Carre, 1578, and had two sons : Jean, sieur de Bernon- 
ville, and Andre. The latter married Jeanne Lescour, 
and, after her death, Marie Papin in 1605 ; their two 
sons were Leonard, sieur de Bernonville, and Andre, 
the latter being the father of Gabriel the refugee. 

The branch of the family to which Andre belonged 
was distinguished as de Bernonville, and was amongst 
the first in La Rochelle to embrace Calvinism. The 
other branch, de la Bernoniere de I'lsleau, also adopted 
the same belief.^ 

Andre, Gabriel's father, was one of ten children, 
five of whom were sons, the remaining five daughters. 
Andre was a prosperous banker, and ancien of the 
Huguenot Church. He did not long survive its 
destruction and the dispersion of his brethren, but 
died soon after the Act of the Revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes was passed, and was buried by night in his 
own gardens at Perigny. 

Samuel and Jean de Bernon, Andre's second and 
third sons, became zealous converts to the Catholic 
faith. Some of the letters written by the former to 
Gabriel, in reply to his severe reproaches, are still 
extant; they prove the sincerity of his convictions, 
and give the reasons for his conversion. As sieur 
de Salines he lived in luxury in Poitou. Jean, sieur 

^ Bcmon famille habitant la Rochelle apres avoir embrasse 1 'heresie 
de Calvinisme n 'a Jamais voulu se" faire rehabiliter ; elle a toujours ete 
riche et consideree. — Filleau. 

i4i\ 



Philip Freneau 



de Luneau, resided before and after his conversion 
in San Just. Ester escaped to England, and Jeanne 
married Jean Allaire, brother to Alexandre Allaire, the 
refugee, and one of the founders of New Rochelle, West- 
chester County, in the State of New York. Another 
sister married a Mr. Du Pont of La Rochelle, and her 
son Jacque, along with Jeanne's son, Louis Allaire, 
accompanied their uncle Gabriel Bernon to America. 
Andre and Benjamin Faneuil, connections of the de 
Bernons, accompanied this party in their flight. 

Gabriel was forty-one years of age at the time of 
the revocation of the Edict, and was one of the leading 
merchants of La Rochelle. He married Ester Le 
Rov, the daughter of a landed proprietor whose resi- 
dence faced the royal palace. He was an inflexible 
Huguenot and had materially assisted the refugees 
who had settled in Quebec. Gabriel attempted to 
settle in Quebec, but on account of his religious con- 
victions was obliged to leave Canada. Upon his 
return to France he was arrested and thrown into the 
prison of la Lanterne, from which, after an imprison- 
ment of several months' duration, he was released 
through the influence of his Catholic brothers, 
Samuel and Jean. 

After his release, Gabriel disposed of his remaining 
property, but he received only about one-tenth part 
of its value. He managed to escape with this into 
Holland, where his wife was to meet him; but she was 
arrested in her attempt, and was only set at liberty 
upon feigning conversion. She speedily joined her 
husband, however, and they sailed to England, landing 
in London, where they were met by their relatives 
Louis Allaire, Jacque Du Pont, and the two Faneuils. 

Bernon, with the intention of settling in America, 
had sent several sums of money to his agent in that 
country, who purchased a tract of land of twenty-five 
hundred acres not very far from Boston ; and later 

\42\ 



T^he Poet of the Revolution 

on he sailed for his new home with his wife and rela- 
tives, along with forty other refugees whose expenses 
he paid to his colony. 

Arriving in Boston, he was put in possession of his 
grant by the custom of investiture of twig and turf, 
by Chief Justice Dudley. Bcrnon and his nephews 
remained in Boston, leaving his agent to act for 
him in the colony called New Oxford; in which 
houses, and a fort and church were soon built. 

The community all together amounted to about 
eighty persons; amongst whom was the family of 
Lydia Sigourney's husband. To all appearance there 
was every sign of success and an increase of the infant 
colony, as other refugees frequently joined it. 

During King Philip's war, the Nipmucks ravaged 
the surrounding country, and the Oxford colonists 
became greatly alarmed. Bernon's agent, foreseeing 
danger, disposed of all the stock and furniture Bernon 
had provided, and made off with the proceeds to 
unknown parts. A visit from the Indians, attended 
by the usual massacre, caused the colonists to take 
refuge in the fort, which they soon after abandoned to 
return to Boston. The minister also went off, carry- 
ing with him the books provided for the use of the 
colony, and all papers of importance. 

All that remains to mark the spot of the once pros- 
perous settlement is a huge cross bearing the following 
inscription : — 

IN MEMORY OF 

THE 

HUGUENOTS 

EXILES FOR THEIR FAITH 

WHO MADE THE FIRST SETTLEMENT 

OF 

OXFORD 

1680 

WE LIVE NOT FOR OURSELVES ONLY 
BUT FOR POSTERITY. 

\43\ 



Philip FrcNCdN 



" I tntght ha\c rcinaiiu-il m bramo and kept my 
projHTtv, inv ijiialilv, ;iiul mv titles it I had been will- 
ing to submit to slavery," wrote, in his old age, Gabriel 
Hernon the refugee.' 

The tamily ot Allaire, to whieh Louis belonged, 
was another aneient tamily ot" 1*' ranee ; atul one lono- 
idcntitieil with the Huguenot eause in I .a Koehelle. 
This tamily was represented in their eongregation, at 
the time ot the revocation, bv several prominent mem 
bers, vi/., Antoine, sieur liu Hugnon, Jean, the roval 
secretary, anil 1 lenri, Councillor and l,ieutei\ani (Gen- 
eral in AdnuraltN , who were brothers. 

Belonging to a younger branch ot this tamily was 
Pierre, whose son Alexandre Allaire came to America 
by \\.i\ ot St. Christopher m the year lOSd. Me 
finally c.une to New Koehelle, i>t which settlement he 
was one of the most prominent members. Pierre's 
grandson, and Alexandre's nephew, Louis, as wc have 
already stated, came to Boston with his uncle, Gabriel 
Bernon, and his other relatives, |aci|ue Ou Pont and 
the l*'aneuils. Louis remained sometime in Boston 
carrying on business between that cit\ and southern 
parts under the name ot Lmiis Allaire ^ Co. 1 K^ 
afterwards removed to New ^ ork City where he dieil 
ot a lingering illness. 

Andre b'aneuil located in Boston, of which city he 
became a prominent member. 11 is descendant Peter 
b'aneuil was the finmder of the building bearing his 
name, and ^nen bv him to the cit\ tor a town hall 
and market. in this buildmi;, loc.ited on Merchants 
Row and l*\meuil Mall Square, were held all the town- 
meetings during the dark ilavs preceding the Revolu- 
tion which inspired and kept alive the spirit of liberty. 
Benj.imin settled in New York City, from which place 
he exported goods \o London, 

' Ihis'ucnots ii\ .VincMiiM, U.iird. 

I /./ 1 



T*he Poet oj the Rcvolulion 

In 1707 the mate of ;i sloop that, had been captured 
hy a I'rench privateer while on its way to Kngland, 
set the report afloat that the Frencfi inhabitants fjf 
New York, were plf)tting for the capture of that city 
|jy the I'Vench ; and that Captain Benjamin Kancuil 
bore a prrjrninent part in the matter. Also that they 
were in correspondence with (he ImcikIi government 
to that efTect. 

The I ((iguenots, upon hearing the '.lander, addressed 
a petition to llis I^xceilency Lord ('ornbury, recjuest- 
ing that the mate, Morris Newinhuysen, as well as 
any r>ther person implicated in the slander, might be 
exan)ined ; and if it was found (hat ;i.ny one had given 
just foundation for the re[)or(, he shoiild be punished 
and the innf)cent freed from suspicion. 

I he j)etition was headed: — 

A I' ull & Just discovery of ihc weak & 

slender founclafion of a mf)st Pernicious 

Slander 

Raised against the 

French Protestant Rcfugcen 

Jnhabitin^^ ific Province of New York genrraliy l)ijt more 

particularly afferitinpr, 

(Japt. HcMJarnin I'aneijil 

persrx) of considc-rahle note anjo/igsl them 

'I'he captain of the vessel, John Van Rrugh, testi- 
fied that the mate had told him that a br>atswain found 
some letters on board of the sloop which were ad- 
dressed to Prance under cover tr> persons in England. 
That the contents of the letters were to the effect tfiat 
the French would find the condition of things in New 
York in great disorder if they chose to avail them- 
selves of it. That upon questioning the said mate as 
to his knowledge of the writers of said letters, he said 
there were no names signefj f)tit that tin; handwriting 
in one letter resembled that of Captain Benjamin 

\.45\ 



Philip Freneau 



Faneuil. The mate being sworn, made in effect the 
same statement. Whereupon the governor issued the 
following proclamation : — 

At a council held at Fort Anne in New York 
the 4th day of March 1707-8. 

Present His Excellency Edward Viscount Cornbury 
Rip Van Dam ) ^ John Barberie ) ^ 

Thomas Wenham \ " ' Adolph Phillipse \ ^ 

His Excellency and council having considered the Deposi- 
tions of Maurice Newenhuysen and John Van Brugh con- 
cerning a Letter writ from hence to France, and taken in the 
sloop Constant Abigal, giving some account Cas is said) of the 
condition of this place, do declare unanimously, That they do 
not think that there is any ground to suspect Capt. Faneuil of 
holding correspondence with France nor to prosecute him here 
on the aforesaid Depositions 

By Order of His Excellency in Council 

Geo. Clarke. 

Another petition was laid before the governor, re- 
questing that his secretary should provide the Hugue- 
not congregation with a copy of the " minits and 
Entries " relative to the search and inquiry, along with 
the opinion of the governor and his council, and also 
a license for the printer to imprint the same ; that 
their reputation might thereby be vindicated, which 
was granted. 

The signers of the two petitions were Stephen 
D'Lancey, Elias Nezereau, Abraham Jouneau, 
Thomas Bayeux, Elias Neau, Paul Droilet, Auguste 
Jay, Jean Cayale, Benjamin Faneuil, David Cromelin, 
Jean Auboyneau, Francis Vincent, and Alexandre 
Allaire.^ 

Although many other names of the refugees are of 
sufficient interest to insert here, we have only selected 
from them such names as belonged to relatives of the 
family of Freneau. 

^ Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. lii. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

The Huguenots, having sold their diminutive church 
in the year 1703, were authorized by an Act of the 
Legislature to purchase a building lot, and the site 
selected was that on the northeast corner of King^ 
and Nassau streets. In the following year they erected 
a stone edifice with a tower in the rear. Sir Henry 
Asshurst presented a bell to be hung in it.^ Oyer 
the portal of the church was a tablet bearing the in- 
scription : "I'Eglise du St. Esprit Gall : Prot : Reform : 
fundat 1704: Peritus Reparat 1741." 

This old church, for the first hundred years of its 
existence, was the place of worship for the Huguenot 
families of New York and environs. Those who had 
settled in New Rochelle also worshipped in it, al- 
though this act of piety obliged them to leave their 
homes before light, in order to reach it before services 
commenced. 

Tradition points to an old building one and a half 
stories high, which stands near the Kingsbridge about 
a mile to the northward of Crosskeys tavern, or the 
place where it once stood, which bore for its sign a 
blue bell, from which it took its name. This it de- 
clares was the veritable place of rest where these men, 
of sterner stuff than now, were wont to halt over night 
on their weekly journeys from New Rochelle to New 
York for the sabbath services. 

In the year 1724 some defection on the part of 
the minister gave great displeasure to the consistory 
and a part of the congregation, who consequently gave 
him his dismissal. He and the remaining portion of 
the congregation resisted ; and the matter was laid 
before the governor, who decided in favor of the 
minister, and he was retained. This proved to be 
very prejudicial to the interests of the church, as most 
of the congregation left it for either the established 

1 Pine St. 

^ This old bell is now in New Rochelle. 

\47\ 



Philip Freneau 



church or that of the Dutch. It was consequently 
neglected and became sadly in need of repair. 

In 1812, Bishop Hobart, of Trinity Church, offered 
to have the Huguenot church thoroughly repaired and 
set upon a firm footing, if the minister and congrega- 
tion would enter the Episcopal communion and use 
its liturgy. The parties agreed to this proposal and 
the edifice was repaired, and a fair congregation seated. 

The old church was totally destroyed in the great 
fire of 1776, but had been rebuilt. It has since, 
changing its liturgy, removed to West Twenty-second 
Street, New York City. 



\48\ 



Chapter Fourth 



ALMOST two centuries have rolled on their 
course since Andre Freneau, the founder of 
the family in America bade farewell to the 
quaint old city of La Rochelle in France to face the 
shores which were thenceforward to be his home. 

The pitiless hands of time and fire have obliterated 
nearly every trace of his existence. The family rec- 
ords, along with much that was valuable in the way 
of letters and manuscripts, perished in the flames 
that consumed the family residence of Philip Freneau 
at Mount Pleasant (now Freneau) in Monmouth 
County, New Jersey, in the year 1818. 

One old relic, piously rescued from the relentless 
flames, remains, and mutely seems to say, " I alone 
have escaped to tell you." This heirloom in the 
form of a Bible, published in Geneva in the year 1587, 
has been in the Freneau family, perhaps before, but 
certainly ever since the year 1590. The first record 
on its time-worn pages tells us that it was in that year 
it began its journey from father to son, as was the 
custom in the Huguenot families in France. 

It alone remains to tell us of the hands it has passed 
through, until the present time, when, for want of 
male heirs, it has come into the possession of a 
great-granddaughter of Philip Freneau, the Poet of 
the Revolution. 

Its record runneth thus : — 

Ce livre fut donne par Philip P. Fresneau a son unique fils 
Jacque. Janvier 3^ 1590. 

De Jacque Fresneau a son second fils Jacque Fresneau 
Janvier i*'"^ 1605^ 

M [ 49 ] 



Philip Freneau 



De Jacque Fresneau a son second fils Thomas Fresneau 
Janvier i'* 1630. 

De Thomas Fresneau a son frere Jean. Janvier 1653 

De Jean Fresneau a son fils Andre Fresneau mon second 
Janvier i'^ 1680 

De And. Fresneau a son second fils Andre Fresneau 
Jan. i^^ 1702 

De Andre Fresneau a son second fils Pierre Fresneau 
Jan. I'* 1725 

De Pierre Fresneau a son premiere fils Philip Fresneau 
Jan. 2^ 1752 (O S) 

Philip Morin PVeneau revolt ce livre de son pere Pierre 
Freneau. 

Philip Morin Freneau departed this life Dec. iS'** 1830. 
aged 80 yrs. 11 mo. 5c 13 days. 

It is a remarkable coincidence that its first and last 
possessors of the name of Freneau should have borne 
the name of Philip, and that of its nine owners they 
should be the only ones that bore that Christian name. 

This Bible, being a Protestant version, was expatri- 
ated along with its owners. 

The family of de Fresneau belonged to La Ro- 
chelle, once famous in the history of the Huguenots 
— now so changed in their regard. This name, we 
are told, was of some note amongst the Rochellais, 
but how it happened that its members escaped the fate 
of so many of their compatriots, we are not told ; the 
flames have guarded their secrets well. 

That the family residence of Andre the refugee was 
named " Mont Plaisant " is the only fact of transatlan- 
tic days that has been transmitted to his descendants. 

It must have been a dreary place, that La Rochelle, 
and like a city of the dead to those remaining there like 
the grapes left from the vintage ! How all things around 
them must perforce have brought up sad memories of 
those who had once lived and loved amongst them, 
but were now wanderers on the face of the earth. 

\50\ 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

There was la Lanterne,^ in which Gabriel Bernon 
and so many others had been imprisoned; and not far 
from it stood the former dwelling of Pierre Jay. The 
residence of Ester Le Roy still faced the king's palace, 
but the voice of Ester was no longer heard within its 
walls. Of the Bernons, one alone was left in the old 
mansion, so veiled in mystery, and in which the remain- 
ing Huguenots met for their secret services. The dwell- 
ings of the Allaires and Du Fonts, even if not entirely 
without occupants, yet lacked some of the former 
members of their families, who were now numbered 
amongst the aliens of the land of their birth. 

There were yet to be seen the old Scriptural inscrip- 
tions, or verses from Marot, over the small, plain 
doorways that gave to the street, but opened inwardly 
into residences in which evidences of wealth, refine- 
ment, and elegance met the eye. 

The narrow, crooked streets, where formerly the 
tokens of recognition were so frequently interchanged, 
were peopled with strange faces. No wonder, then, 
that hearts should sicken and desires awaken to leave 
these sadly suggestive spots, — and that Andre Fre- 
neau should bid good-bye to his native land. 

We may imagine the sentiments he experienced as 
the sombre towers of la Lanterne and Saint Nicolas 
faded from his view, and the receding shores of the 
isles of Re and Oleron told him that he was hence- 
forth a stranger to the land of his fathers. 

We would infer from his age at the date of his 
death that at the time of the revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes, in 1685, ^^ ^^^ but ten years of age, and 
from the fact of the ancient Bible having been pre- 
sented to him in the year 1702 it would seem like a 
parting gift from his father. 

^ La Lanteme was built for a lighthouse, but was used as a prison during 
the persecution of the Huguenots. 

[5/] 



Philip Freneau 



It is most probable that he first went to England, 
and from there directed his course to the port of Bos- 
ton, but we do not hear of him in the new world until 
the year 1705. 

In this year rumors of copper being discovered in 
the township of Suffolk, Connecticut, caused the pro- 
prietors in that locality to appoint a commission to in- 
stitute a search, which proved successful. The news 
travelled to Boston and caused some capitalists there 
to interest themselves in excavating. 

The land had been the hunting ground of Indians, 
and being unclaimed property the proprietors of the 
town of Simsbury assumed its control, and leased the 
ground to some private individuals as well as com- 
panies. Andre Freneau proceeded thither and, leasing 
a mine, began to excavate. 

According to the laws regulating the colony, smelt- 
ing of ore was prohibited ; therefore, loading a vessel, 
Freneau shipped it to London. The ship was cap- 
tured by a French cruiser, and his enterprise resulted 
in total loss. So great were the disadvantages attend- 
ing mining at that time, it is not surprising that Fre- 
neau, in the year 1707, relinquishing all hopes of realiz- 
ing any profit from his enterprise, left the mining 
district and turned his thoughts to the city of New 
York, where Benjamin Faneuil had already commenced 
commercial business.^ It is not certain whether Louis 
Allaire preceded or followed him to that city. 

Upon arriving in New York Andre engaged in the 
shipping business, and also acted in the interests of the 
" Royal West India Company of France," in which he 
was associated with Etienne Delancey, Auguste Jay, 
Benjamin Faneuil, Rene Het, and others. 

^ This mine was afterwards converted into a prison called Newgate, and 
was the first state prison in Connecticut. The excavations served for the 
safe keeping of the convicts. The prison was afterwards removed to Weth- 
ersfield, and the mine is now used as a show place. It retains the name of 
Copper Hill. 

\52\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

On the seventeenth of June in the year 17 lo, Andre 
married Marie, the eldest daughter of Pierre Morin, or 
Morine, whose name appears as the head of a family in 
the records of the Church of St. Esprit. He was the 
maternal grandfather of John Morin Scott, the promi- 
nent Whig lawyer, of whom we will speak hereafter. 

After his marriage, Andre and his young wife, who 
had just entered her seventeenth year, resided on 
lower Broadway facing Bowling Green, which was at 
that time the aristocratic part of the city, and it is said 
he entertained in considerable style. His name ap- 
pears in the records of the French Church as the head 
of a family, and an ancien of the church. 

It had always been the custom in the temple, or 
principal religious edifice, of the Huguenots, for the 
anciens, or elders, to have, along with the consistoire, 
prominent seats reserved for them during the services. 
In the mother country, the consistory was composed 
only of the pastors of the churches in a certain district, 
and one ancien chosen from each congregation, to rep- 
resent it in the assembly. As such members were 
charged with the oversight of the flock and its tempo- 
ralities, as well as their spiritual interests, the oflice was 
one of considerable responsibility, as well as honor. 
In New York, there being but one congregation, the 
elders formed the consistory. They were elected every 
three years. 

In the year 17 13, a robbery having been committed 
in Trinity Church, of which the Rev. Mr, Vesey was 
rector, the minister and consistory of the Church of St. 
Esprit, fearing a like sacrilege, presented a petition to 
the governor that the perpetrators should be appre- 
hended and brought to justice. 

The petition being of no great length, and its 
quaintness amusing, we will insert it. We have failed 
to find any method amongst the colonial writers gen- 
erally, whether English, French, or Dutch, for the use 

\53\ 



Philip Frcncau 



of capitals, consequently we are almost led to think 
that such letters were thrown promiscuously amongst 
the type, finding, wherever they chanced to lodge, " a 
local habitation and a name." However, as we never 
remember to have found them in the middle of a 
word, there mav have been some rule to govern such 
a contingency. 

It would not be surprising if this promiscuous and 
e;enerous use oi big letters first caused Lindley, the son 
of Robert Murrav, proprietor of the " leathern con- 
veniency " of colonial davs, to project his grammar. 

Address of the Minister and Elders of the French Church in 

New Tork. 

To THE HoNN^^^ Her Majesties Councell for the Province of 
New York. 

Wee the Alinisters ^ Elders ot the Reformed Protestant 
french Church within the cittv oi new york cannot sufficiently 
express our abhorrance of that Wicked, and Sacrileges Fact, 
committed the Night Between Tuesday and wednesdav Last, 
by some Impious Persons in Trinity Church within this Cittv : 
Being a structure built and dedicated to the service of God, the 
discovery and Punishment of wich hainous crime, wee estime 
ourselves, so deeply concerned in, to the end it may deterr 
others from attempting the Like on that, our, or any other 
Building sett apart for divine worshipp within this citty ; That 
wee humbly take Leave to offer to your honnours, That iff" his 
Excellency, or your honn^''* board, shall think fitt to Issue a 
proclamation with a Reward to the Person that shall make a 
discovery of the said wicked offense ; we shall Cheerfully 
contribute the sume of tenn Pound towards an Incouragement 
for the Person that shall make such a discover)-, and in duty 
bound wee shall pray, 5:c. 

Lewis Rou.\. Minister 

of the French Church in N. Tork 
John Barbarie Elder 
Louis Carre anden 
New York i6th Jean Laport ancien 

February i~W Andre Fresneau anden 

lS4] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

The date of Andre's marriage is not recorded in the 
register of the French church, which is explained by 
the fact of the frequent interruptions in its services. 
Marriages and baptisms were frequently performed for 
the Huguenots in Trinity or in the Dutch church. 
Andre's marriage does appear in the register of the 
Dutch church, but the baptisms of all his children are 
registered in the French church, and in the following 
order : — 

Bapteme. Auiourdhui dimanche 29* de Juillet 1711 mons'' 
Louis Rou notre pasteur a Baptise Andre Fresneau ne le 
24^ de ce mois a 3 heures du matin fils de Andre Fresneau 
et de Marie Morin presente au S' Bapteme aprest la priere 
du soir par la S' Morin et Judith Jamain Parein et mareinne. 

L. Rou Pasteur 

And^ Fresneau 
Pierre Morin 
Judith Jamain 

Bapteme. Aiourdhuy dimanche 8* fevrier ^']W aprest la 
priere du soir monsieur Louis Rou a Baptise Marie Fresneau 
nee le 4™ de ce mois fiUe d'Andre Fresneau et de Marie sa 
femme presentee au S^ Bapteme par le dit Andre Fresneau et 
Marie Morin Parein et marienne. 

L. Rou min. 

And^ Fresneau 
Marie Morin 

Baptesme. A la nouvelle york de g'"' d'octobre 17 15 au- 
iourdhuy dimanche aprest la priere du soir mons' Louis Rou a 
Baptise Marguerite Fresneau nee de 8= de ce mois fille de 
Andre Fresneau et de Marie son Epouse presente au S' Bap- 
teme par Alexandre Allaire et Marguerite Morin parain et 
mareine. 

And^ Fresneau 
L. Rou ministre Alexander Allaire 

Marguerite Morin 

Bapteme Le samedy ii°" Janvier 171^ avant mydy Est ne 
Pierre Fresneau fils d'Andre Fresneau et de Marie Morin bap- 

[55] 



Philip Freneau 



tise par Mons. Louis Rou en sa maison la dimanche 19* du 
meme mois presente au S* Bapteme par Mons'' Rene Het et 
Mad. Ester Charron Parain et maraine. 

Andre Fresneau 
L. Rou Pasteur Rene Het 

Ester Charron 

Bapteme. A la nouvelle york ce ii™^ de Mars I7i| Au- 
iordhui mercredy aprest la priere du matin Mons. Louis Rou 
a Baptise Thomas Louis Fresneau ne le 5"^^ de ce mois fils de 
Mons'' Andre et Marie Fresneau presente au S* Bapteme par 
Mons"" Thomas Bayeux et Mad'^ Ester Morin Parrain et mar- 
raine. 

Andre Fresneau 
L. Rou ministre Thomas Bayeux 

Ester Morin 

Bapteme, a la Nouvelle york ce 24^ de Juillet 1720 Auiour- 
dhuy dimanche aprest Taction du soir Mons"" Moulinars a Bap- 
tise Francois Fresneau ne le 2^ de ce mois fils de monsieur 
Andre Fresneau et de Marie son Epouse presente au S' Bap- 
teme par monsieur Louis Allaire et Mad^ J^^y Morin parain 
et marrainne. 

Andre Fresneau 
J. J. Moulinars Pasteur Louis Allaire 

Judith Morin 

We find the name of Andre Fresneau mentioned in 
the Journal of John Fontaine, a kinsman of the cele- 
brated Commodore Maury. As this Journal depicts 
the condition of New York City, as well as its society, 
at the time of Mr. Fresneau's residence there, we will 
copy that particular portion of it. A few words as to 
its author may not be out of place as an introduction. 

The family of John Fontaine, or de La Fontaine, 
were Huguenot refugees who left their native land at 
the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, tak- 
ing up their residence in England. At the age of sev- 
enteen, and in the year 17 10, John de La Fontaine 
received the appointment of ensign in Lord Shaw's 

\56\ 




CHL'RCH DU ST. ESPRIT 
Rear View, 1776 



The Poet of the Revolution 

regiment of infantry. After serving three years in 
the British army, he retired from the service and in 
the following year emigrated to America, settHng 
in the State of Virginia. 

In 17 16 Fontaine visited New York in company 
with Mr. Michael Kearney, a member of the family 
of Kearneys of New Jersey, combining business pur- 
poses with those of pleasure, as he was desirous of 
seeing something of the country of his adoption. 

The Journal commences with his departure from the 
English coast, but we give only that portion which 
relates to the family whose history we are giving. 

October 22d, 17 16. In the sloop at anchor under 
Sandy Hook. The weather was so foggy all day that 
we could not see the shore, nor landmarks, so we could 
not hoist our anchor, for this is a very dangerous bay 
to come up witFiout one has fair weather to see the 
landmarks. There are several banks and shoals of 
sand which are very dangerous. There is a great deal 
of water fowl of all sorts on these shoals. 

24th. Calm weather, but such a fog that we could 
not see half a mile. We had a mind to go ashore, but 
the master and sailors were afraid that they could not 
find the sloop again with the boat, so we consented to 
remain on board. The fog is occasioned by the burn- 
ing the woods, for at this season the inhabitants set the 
woods on fire, and the Indians also about this time of 
the year go a fire hunting. 

25th. Still at anchor, weather very foggy, so that 
the master will not venture up with his sloop. About 
twelve it cleared so that we could see the land, and we 
got out the boat, and the men landed us in Staten 
Island. We were obliged to walk about four miles, 
not being able to hire any horses. This island is 
mostly highland and rocky, and that part of the land 
which is good is mixed with small stones. There are 
some good improvements here ; the inhabitants are 

[57] 



Philip Freneau 



mostly Dutch ; the houses are all built with stone and 
lime ; there are some hedges as in England. The 
chief increase is wheat and cattle. They breed large 
horses here. About five of the clock we came to the 
ferry between Long Island and Staten Island, which is 
about one mile broad. The main body of New York 
River runs between these islands. We crossed the 
ferry and came upon Long Island to a small sort of 
village, where, it being late, we put up at the house of 
a Dutchman, one Harris Hendrick. We were well 
lodged and had a good supper. 

26th. About eight of the clock in the morning, we 
hired two horses to go to New York. It is about 
eight miles from this ferry by land, but not near so 
much by water. Long Island is generally very plain 
ground, bears extraordinary good grass, and is an ex- 
cellent place for cattle. It produceth wheat and all 
English grain in abundance. The chief part of the 
inhabitants are Dutch, but there are some few French. 
Amongst them are several good improvements, and 
many fine villages ; the woods are mostly destroyed. 
Besides the plentiful produce of the Island, there is 
every advantage for fishing and fowling that can be 
wished. About seven o'clock we came to a fine vil- 
lage ^ opposite New York, and we crossed the ferry. 
The river is about a quarter of a mile over, and runs 
very rapidly ; there are good, convenient landings on 
both sides. As soon as we landed we went and agreed 
for our lodgings with a Dutch woman named Schuyler, 
and then I went to see Mr. Andre Fresneau at his 
house, and he received me very well. 

27th. About nine I breakfasted at the Coffee 
House, and at eleven I waited upon Governor Hunter, 
who received me very kindly and invited me to dine 
with him. After dinner I walked with him about the 

1 Brooklyn. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

fort, wherein he Jives. It is a small square situated 
upon a height above the town, and commanding it. 
The one side of it fronts the harbor, and hath a 
small curtain and two bastions ; the land side hath but 
two half bastions to it, so that it is a square composed 
of two whole and two half bastions. There is a rave- 
lin toward the land that lies on one side of the gate. 
It is but a weak place, and badly contrived. There is 
a regiment here, and the Governor always hath a 
guard, and this is all the duty they have, which is very 
little. From the Governor I went to see the Mayor 
of the town, one Dr. Johnson, and was kindly re- 
ceived by him ; thence to Col. Delarty's. 

28th. About eight of the clock in the morning 
Mr. Kearny and I hired horses and went about seven 
miles out of town to see one Colonel Morriss,^ who 
lives in the country, and is Judge or Chief Justice of 
this province, — a very sensible and good man. We 
were received well by him and remained with him all 
night ; and we saw a great many fine improvements 
that he had miade, and he showed us several rare col- 
lections of his own making. He lives upon the river 
that comes down to New York. 

29th. We were invited to dine with Mr. Hamilton 
and Mr. Lane. After dinner I visited Mr. Fresneau 
and had a great deal of discourse with him about 
the trade of Virginia. From thence I walked round the 
town. There are three churches, the English, the 
French, and the Dutch Church ; there is also a place 
for the Assembly to sit, which is not very fine, and 
where they judge all matters. The town is compact, 

1 Judge Lewis Morris, son of Richard Morris, a former captain in the 
Parliamentary army, who settled in Westchester County, where his son 
Lewis was born and resided in later life. In 1715 Lewis received a com- 
mission as Chief Justice for the Province of New York, which position he 
held until displaced for political causes by Governor Cosby. In the ex- 
citing public affairs of the period. Judge Morris was the leading man in 
the liberal party. He was subsequently Governor of New Jersey. 

\59\ 



Philip Frcneau 



the houses for the most part built after the Dutch 
manner, with the gable ends towards the street ; the 
streets are of good breadth. The town is built close 
upon the river, and there is a fine quay that reigns all 
round the town, built with stone and piles of wood 
outside. There are small docks for cleaning and 
building small ships. At high water the vessels come 
up to the quay to lade and unlade. In winter the 
river is frozen, sometimes all over, and abundance of 
ice comes down, that it often cuts the cables of ships, 
but it cannot hurt those near the quay. The town is 
built on ground that gradually rises trom the water, so 
it is amphitheatre like. The French have all the privi- 
leges that can be, and are the most in number here ; 
they are of the Council and of the Parliament, and are 
in all other employments. The chief produce of this 
province is beef, flour, pork, butter, and cheese, which 
they send to the West Indies, and sometimes to Lisbon. 
They drive a great trade with the northern Indians 
for skins and furs. There is plenty of all sorts of fish, 
oysters, and water-fowl. The climate is very cold in 
winter, a great deal of snow and frost for four months, 
and very hot in the latter part of the summer. 

31st. At ten w-ent to the Coftee house and walked 
upon the Exchange, which hath pillars of wood all 
round, which support the roof and leave it open on 
all sides. I dined with Mr. Andre Fresneau and 
remained wdth him till four of the clock, and at six to 
the French Club, where they treated me. 

4th Nov. 17 16. At ten I went to Mr. Fresneau, 
and with him to church. I returned to his house 
and dined with him, and at half an hour after two 
we went to church ao;ain. The church is very large 
and beautiful, and within it there was a verv f^reat 



congregation 



i;th. At ten in the morning I carried Mr. Fres- 
neau a memorandum of the prices ot goods. 

i6o\ 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

6th. Visited Mr. Fresneau. The Postmaster Gene- 
ral, Mr. Hamilton, invited me to dinner. 

7th. At ten waited on Governor Hunter and drank 
tea with him. At four I went to the coffee house, 
where I met with Mr. Fresneau and at six we went 
to the French Club. 

14th. At six we arrived at Philadelphia, a town 
which is situated upon rising ground on Delaware 
River. The inhabitants are mostly Quakers. I 
visited Mr. Samuel Perez and gave him Mr. Fres- 
neau's letter, etc. 

19th. At eight of the clock set out from Mr. 
Patterson's, which is about sixty miles from Phila- 
delphia, and at twelve arrived at the Court House 
of the county of Kent, where we baited our horses. 
About three Mr. Kearny and I went to his brother's 
house in the neighborhood, where we put up and 
remained all night. 

20th. It being rainy we remained where we were, 
and had good entertainment. This gentleman, Mr. 
Kearny hath a plantation and an extraordinary good 
tannery. 

It is not certain in what year the Freneau 
family left the French congregation. The last of 
their baptisms was registered in its records in the 
year 1720 ; consequently it was not before that date. 
There is no record of Mrs. Freneau's death, which 
occurred in the year 1721 ; but this is not a conclu- 
sive proof that they severed their connection with 
it before that date, as, in looking over the register, 
we find only one interment recorded during the entire 
forty years of Mr. Rou's pastorate, except the burials 
of his own five children ; these are most carefully 
noted. 

Andre's death occurred in the year 1725. As he 
was buried in the family vault of Trinity churchyard, 

{61 \ 



Philip Freneau 



it is probable that he joined that congregation during 
his Hfetime. It is not improbable that the difficulty 
between the minister and congregation in the year 
1724 was the cause of his leaving the communion 
of the French Church, and joining that of Trinity, 
as many prominent families joined the congregations 
of the other churches at that time. 

It would seem that "Aunt Allaire" took charge 
of the orphaned family, as the eldest child, Andre, 
was only thirteen years of age at the death of his 
father, and the youngest, Fran9ois, only five. It also 
appears that she remained ever after with them, keep- 
ing house first for Andre, who never married, and 
after his death living in Mount Pleasant, New Jersey, 
in the home of his brother Pierre. 

Upon reaching man's estate Andre carried on the 
Bordeaux and Madeira trade. The only record we 
have of him is that of being witness to the marriage 
of his cousin, Marie Allaire, which took place in the 
house of her parents in the year 1754. Although this 
marriage occurred in the year mentioned, it was not 
registered in the records of the church of Saint Esprit 
until the year 1761. If we mistake not, only one mar- 
riage was registered during Mr. Rou's long pastorate. 

Manage. En vertu d'une Licence de M": James de 
Lancey Lieutenant Gouvernour dans la province de la nou- 
velle york et terres qui en dependant datee le 6™* Septembre 
1754 et le 28™^ annee du Regne de notre legitime souverain 
george 24. Roy de la grande Britagne etc. Jay Beni ches 
mad^. Alaire, le S'H* de Septembre 1754 le mariage de Louis 
Pavez officier dans la Compagnie de fort George de cette 
ville et Marie Allaire les temoins etaient Marguerite Allaire 
mere de I'Epousee, Jean Morin Scott, et Andre Freno ses 
cousins germains et demoiselle Marie Morin grandmere de 
I'epousee ce que je declare et enregistre pour servir come de 
Besoin sera a la Nouvelle York ce y"!!* Juillet 1761. 

Jean Carle Pasteur. 

[62] 



T'he Poet of the Revolution 

A small pencil sketch, with the words, " Andrew 
Fresneau's House 1756. Cor. Pearl and Wall streets," 
which goes to prove that he lived there in that 
year, and a statement that he died in the same 
locality, are all the data we possess in regard to his 
later life. The house seems to have been a large 
and handsome one for that time, but when the family 
removed there from the vicinity of Bowling Green 
is not known ; most probably it was when the tide 
of fashion began its northward march. Time has 
obliterated the date of his death from the vault in 
which he was most probably buried. 

The fate of Andre's two sisters is very remarkable. 
Marie, the eldest, was two years older than Mar- 
guerite ; and between the dates of their deaths, which 
we find in an old note-book, there was an interval of 
precisely two years ; consequently both died at the 
same age, that of twenty-two years, and of the same 
disease, that of the heart. One died in October of 
the year 1736, the other in the same month of 1738. 

A note adds that they were both beautiful ; and 
that each died shortly before the time appointed for 
her marriage ; the one, with a son of her father's 
business associate, Etienne Delancey ; the other, to a 
member of the Desbrosses family. 

Pierre Freneau married Agnes Watson in the year 
1748. All that we know of this lady's early life 
is that she was twenty years of age at the time of 
her marriage, and that she was related to John 
Fanning Watson, the antiquary. 

Thomas Louis died at the early age of three 
months, and Fran9ois married Helen Provost, a rela- 
tive of the Right Reverend Samuel Provost. Some 
writers have said the lady was his daughter, but this 
is not very probable, as Francois was many years 
older than Bishop Provost. She may have been 
his sister or aunt. 



Philip Freneau 



Fran9ois had no children. 

In Bishop Provost was united French and Dutch 
ancestry. His father was of Huguenot descent and 
his mother was Eve, daughter of Herman Bleecker. 
He was one of the first seven graduates of King's, 
now Columbia, College, New York City. His class 
was that of 1758. It is said that, although he was the 
youngest of all the graduates of that year, he carried 
off the honors. He afterwards entered Cambridge 
College, England, having for private tutor John Jebb, 
a scholar of great attainments, and one in favor of 
civil, as well as religious liberty. Provost was or- 
dained in King's College, Whitehall ; and, after his 
ordination, married the daughter of Thomas Bous- 
field, a wealthy Irish banker.^ 

Mr. Provost was appointed assistant minister in 
Trinity Church, but resigned in the year 1774 on ac- 
count of his political sentiments. He was proposed as 
a delegate to the Provincial Congress, but declined it, 
as also the offer of chaplaincy to the Convention of 
1777, which met to consider the great Constitution. 

After the evacuation of the city by the British, in 
1784, he was unanimously elected rector of Trinity 
Church, and was one of the Board of Regents of the 
University. He was appointed chaplain to the Con- 
tinental Congress in 1785. He received the title of 
D.D. from the Pennsylvania University in 1786, and 
in the following year went to England for his consecra- 
tion, which took place in Lambeth Palace. 

In 1789 he was chaplain to the United States Sen- 
ate and officiated in the services held in St. Paul's 
Church, New York, at the inauguration of Washing- 
ton as first President of the United States. He was 
also one of the trustees of Columbia College. He 

^ Mr. Bousfield's son Benjamin vvas a member of the Irish Parliament, 
and wrote an able reply to Edmund Burke's celebrated work on the French 
Revolution. 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

died of apoplexy in the year 1815, and was buried in 
Trinity churchyard. As a scholar. Bishop Provost 
was versed in Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and German, 
and conversed fluently in French and Italian. It has 
been said that he translated Tasso into the vernacular. 
His sermons were full of character and force ; he is 
said to have had no peer among American contempo- 
raries. He was so indifferent to literary reputation 
that he never permitted his sermons to be printed. 

In his funeral eulogy it was said of him that what 
he undertook was to be admired as glorious ; what he 
performed, to be commended as profitable ; and where- 
in he failed is to be excused as pardonable.^ 

Pierre Freneau resided in Frankfort Street after 
his marriage, and there his eldest son, Philip Morin 
Freneau, the poet, was born. In the year of Philip's 
birth, Pierre bought an estate of one thousand acres 
in Monmouth County, New Jersey, upon which he 
built a residence, naming it Mount Pleasant, after the 
residence of his grandfather in La Rochelle. 

Here he removed when Philip was in his second 
year, and interested himself in the care of his increas- 
ing family and in the improvement of the estate. 
Some of the trees planted by him are still standing. 
Most of these were locusts, which formed a grove 
around the house. Here all his children except Philip 
were born, and their names were registered in his own 
handwriting, thus : — 

Philip Morin Freneau born Jan. 2d O.S. 1752 
Mary Freneau " Sept. loth 1754 

Peter Freneau " April 5th 1757 

Andrew Freneau " April 3d 1759 

Margaret Allaire Freneau " Feb. 27th 1761 

Pierre died in the year 1767, and was buried in the 
family vault in Trinity churchyard, along with his 

^ Applcton, 



Philip Freneau 



parents and brothers and sisters. The vault has never 
since been opened for an interment. 

It is most unfortunate that, owing, first, to the Brit- 
ish occupancy of New York during the Revolution ; 
secondly, to the disastrous fire of 1776 which destroyed 
Trinity Church ; and thirdly, to the fact that a family 
burying-ground was laid out in Mount Pleasant, — the 
vaults of the family in the city were forgotten until it 
was too late to decipher the inscriptions. 

Would that Old Mortality had lived in those days 
or that there had been some other to do his work ! 

"Aunt Allaire" dying in the year 1779, a burying- 
ground was selected in a grove of locust trees, and 
named from that fact "Locust Grove Cemetery;" and 
she was laid therein. Her death was not entered in 
the old Bible until some years later. It is in Philip's 
handwriting and runs thus : — 

" 1779 Aunt Allaire was the first buried in the 
Locust Grove, on the south side of my mother's 
grave." 

Mrs. Freneau did not long remain a widow. A few 
years after Pierre's death she married Major James 
Kearny, a member of the New Jersey family of 
which General Philip Kearny is a descendant. 

It is probably not universally known that Keyport, 
in the northern part of New Jersey, was named from 
that family. It was at first called K-port, then Kear- 
nyport, and finally it was spelled in the way it is 
at present. It is a singular coincidence that Philip's 
stepfather should also be the grandfather of his grand- 
daughter's husband. 

Major Kearny died a few years after his marriage, 
and left Philip's mother again a widow. She did not 
marry again. Her death is thus registered in the old 
Bible: "Died on the i8th of October, 1817, Agnes 
Kearny in her ninety-first year, born of Richard and 
Margaret Watson in the year 1727 April the twenty- 

[^6] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

third. She survived her first husband, Pierre Fre- 
neau, fifty years and one day ; her second, James 
Kearny, nearly forty-five years. She was interred in 
Locust Grove, the family burying-ground, on the 
twentieth of October. Her funeral sermon preached 
by Mr. Dubois from the words in Rev. chapt. 14th, 
verse 13." 

Of Philip and Peter, we will speak later on. Mary, 
the eldest daughter, was said by her brother Philip to 
be "as pure as an angel." She was said to be beauti- 
ful and accomplished, for those days. James Madi- 
son, afterwards president of the United States, and in 
early days a college, class, and room mate, as well as 
confidential friend, of her brother Philip in Nassau 
Hall, Princeton, told the latter, confidentially, that he 
admired her more than any woman he had ever seen ; 
and, during his vacation visits to Mount Pleasant, 
formed an acquaintanceship that ripened into something 
more on his part. He made proposals of marriage to 
her, but, although she admired and respected him, she 
preferred to lead a single life, and could never be in- 
duced to alter her decision. 

Mary lived to an advanced age, spending most of 
her time with her dearly loved younger sister Mar- 
garet, whom she speedily followed to the grave. Her 
brother Philip recorded her death in these words : 
" Mary Freneau, eldest daughter of Peter Freneau 
and Agnes Watson, died at Newburgh, New York 
State, on Thursday evening, Jan. 22d, 1829. This 
truly worthy woman was born in her father's house at 
Mount Pleasant, near Middleton Point, on the loth 
of September, 1754, and at the time of her decease 
was well advanced in her 75th year. She was virtuous 
and innocent as an angel, and if there is any happiness 
in another life for the upright she certainly enjoys it. 
Farewell. 

" By the attention and care of her relative John S. 



Philip Freneau 



Hunn, her body was interred on Jan. 24th in the New- 
burgh burying ground adjacent to the grave of her 
sister Margaret A. Hunn, who died in 1828." 

Andrew, the third and youngest son, died in infancy ; 
and Margaret, the youngest daughter, having married 
Mr. John S. Hunn, a resident of Newburgh, was not 
buried in Locust Grove. Her sister, as we have seen, 
faithful to her during life, was laid by her side in death. 
Philip has entered only two of these deaths. 

" My brother Andrew died of the small pox at 
Middletown Point in April, 1759, aged about one year. 
He was interred in the old burying ground near Mount 
Pleasant which Hendrick Schenk now owns." 



\68\ 



Chapter Fifth 



MONT PLEASANT, now called Freneau, is 
situated about ten miles north of Freehold, 
the seat of Monmouth County, New Jer- 
sey. There is no picture extant of the old mansion in 
its setting of locust trees ; but most likely it was built 
in the usual style of country houses of that period. A 
writer^ upon colonial times says that the country resi- 
dences of the landed gentry of New York and New 
Jersey resembled those of the large planters of the South, 
in that they usually had the same wide hall running 
through the house, the same large porticos and de- 
tached kitchens for summer use ; and that the condition 
of life was somewhat similar, for, although the broad 
acres of the former were usually farmed by tenants, 
the house was always filled with domestic slaves ; and 
there was the same tendency to imitate the life of the 
English country families, as far as the surroundings 
would permit. 

I am quite certain that in Pierre Freneau's case the 
latter paragraph did not hold good ; for, although he 
probably conformed to the architectural style of his 
adopted country, he still retained the French manner 
of life that he had been accustomed to lead in his 
father's house. 

To the northeast of the mansion rose the tree- 
crowned summit of what is now known as Beacon 
Hill ; from whose heights may be seen, to the north, 
the blue waters of the lower bay, and eastward, the 
deeper blue of the broad Atlantic. From its foot 
toward the south, stretch the fertile lands of New 
Jersey, with the historic battle-field of Monmouth 

1 Mr. Eggleston, in The Century Magazine. 

1^9] 



Philip FrcNcau 



in the foreground, — although at that time unstained 
bv the nation's blood. 

As a bov, it was Philip's delight to climb the 
rugged heights ot the old hill, and feast his eyes 
upon the beauties oi nature spread before him, and 
watch the white sails, which, like mammoth birds, 
hovered over the toam-crested waves. It is very prob- 
able that these early scenes made a lasting impression 
upon his vouthful mind, and gave rise to his life- 
long vearning tor the perils ot the deep. 

Did the tuture ever cast its long shadows over the 
beautv ot the scene, and cause the bov to draw 
his breath vet more quick.lv, as it to assure himself 
that tlie pure air of heaven was not wanting? Did 
it seem at times as it alreadv the heavv fetters were 
pressing; upon his ireedom-loving hands and teet.'' 
Was there ever an idea of suffering connected with 
the flutter <ii those sails, as thcv passed and repassed 
upon the peaceful waters ? 

Probablv not ; yet the ancients believed that to 
the poet it is given to penetrate the mysteries of 
the future, and read the secrets written there. He 
turns awav — perhaps 't is so ; but shortly after, in 
a pleasanter mood, we see him bending over a new- 
found treasure, and inhaling the perfume of its pure 
sweet breath. He seats himself, and, drawincr trom 
his clothino; a tiny tablet, he inscribes its perfections 
thereon. Let us look over his shoulder, — he will 
not heed us, so busily is he engaged, — and let us 
read what he is so rapidly writing. 

THE WILD HONEYSUCKLE. 

Eair Rower, that dost so comely grow. 

Hid in this silent, dull retreat, 
L^ntouched thv honied blossoms blow, 
L'nsoon thy little branches greet: 

No roving foot shall crush thee here. 

No busy hand proyoke a tear. 

L 70 J 



The Poet of the Revolution 

By nature's self in white arrayed. 

She bade thee shun the vulgar eye, 
And planted here the guardian shade. 
And sent soft waters murmuring by; 
Thus quietly thy summer goes, 
Thy days declining to repose. 

Smit with those charms, that must decay, 

I grieve to see your future doom ; 
They died — nor were those flowers more gay. 
The flowers that did in Eden bloom ; 
Unpitying frosts, and autumn's power, 
Shall leave no vestige of this flower. 

From morning's suns and evening's dews 

At first thy little being came ; 
If nothing once, you nothing lose. 
For when you die you are the same ; 

Ihe space between is but an hour. 

The frail duration of a flower. 

At what precise age the little poet began to com- 
pose, we know not ; but we are told that verses flowed 
from his pen while he was yet a child. 

Philip's mother was a woman of rare intelligence 
and exceptional education ; and she superintended 
her son's studies until he had completed his tenth 
year ; at which time he was placed, as customary in 
those days, under the care of a minister to learn the 
rudiments of the Greek and Latin languages, as a 
preparation for the higher course. His sensible 
mother knew that a boy of Philip's ardent tempera- 
ment required sterner control than a loving mother 
could use; and she willingly consented that he should 
become an inmate of the household of the Reverend 
William Tennant, pastor of the old Tennant Church, 
which yet stands on Monmouth's battle-fiield, its 
floor still bearing the stains of blood shed by 
its country's martyrs. Perhaps, as a writer has re- 

[7/1 



Philip Freneau 



marked, the boy, playing about what afterwards 
became historic ground, was inspired by some unseen 
power to become the " Poet of the Revolution," 
as he has been styled. 

Three years have passed away, and Philip has 
been booked tor the opening term in the Penolopen 
Latin School, conducted by the Reverend Alexander 
Mitchell, for a preparatory course in college. 

The boy is on his way for the last time to the 
residence of his tutor, having spent a short vaca- 
tion at home. Changes are always sad, even when 
most desired; and as he trudges along, with his 
favorite Horace under his arm, the merry whistle at 
times takes a somewhat sadder strain, — for are not 
joyous natures ever the most capable of the deeper 
sentiments? He pauses on a slight eminence; the 
whistle dies upon his lips, and a dreamy look comes 
over his face. There are moments in the lives 
of most of us — I might say portions of seconds 
— in which the misty veil of the future is raised; 
and down the vista of years our mental vision 
has barely time to travel, and rest upon some 
object, when the veil is dropped again, and we are 
conscious only of an isolated impression, concern- 
ing which we would fain know more. Let us, too, 
look beyond the veil and read the secrets of the 
future. 

Where the road forks, not far from the old Mon- 
mouth meeting-house stands a war-horse ; and on 
it leans a person of majestic mien dressed as a 
soldier, — none such, however, as Philip had ever 
seen before, i^nxiously he looks down the road, 
as if awaiting some one. A soldier on horseback 
rides up, and, throwing himself from his horse, makes 
a military salute, as if to a superior, and imparts 
some information of a seemingly unpleasant nature. 
The officer quickly throws himself into the saddle, 

[ 7-' ] 




AGNES WATSON 
Mother of Philip Freneau 



The Poet of the Revolution 

and both riders disappear in the distance, from which 
the rolling of drums and rattle of musketry are 
heard. 

The boy pursues his way wrapped in deep thought ; 
a morass lies to one side of the roadway, over which 
comes the wailing of the wintry wind, and great 
storm-clouds veil the sun. The snow begins to fall 

— thicker and yet faster its great flakes come; and 
by the border of the morass lies an aged man as 
if asleep ; the large flakes fall upon his upturned 
face, and play amongst his silvery locks — and the 
night falls — The boy shudders and passes his hand 
across his eyes to know if he is really awake. The 
wind has fallen and the sun is brightly shining ; 
the aged sleeper has vanished, and with him the 
wintry storm. It is now what it was a moment ago, 

— a beautiful, bright morning in December, the eigh- 
teenth of the month. 

On the fourteenth day of February in the year 
1766, Philip's father left him in the care of the 
Reverend Mr. Mitchell, where he remained until 
November the seventh, of sixty-eight. His father 
had died the previous year, and, much as his widowed 
mother desired to retain Philip with her, she did not 
blind herself to the fact that his freedom-loving spirit 
needed the discipline that a set form of rules, enforced 
by a firm hand, alone could give. She also realized that, 
although there were many undesirable features in a 
college life, still the training of the intellectual capa- 
bilities received therein surpassed all other, and con- 
sequently his power of benefiting others would be 
enhanced. Therefore, in accordance with her late 
husband's views, Philip was harnessed into the rou- 
tine of a collegiate course, in Nassau Hall, Princeton, 
New Jersey. 

During Philip's course John Witherspoon was 
president of the college. He was Scotch by birth, 

[7J] 



Philip Freneau 



but had thrown himself heart and soul into the 
fortunes of his adopted country ; and his great desire 
was to see it free from the galling yoke of servi- 
tude. Just before Philip's entrance General Gage 
had marched with seven hundred troops into Boston ; 
and the colonies were thrown into a state of excite- 
ment by an Act of Parliament which declared the 
people of Massachusetts rebels; it had also issued 
an order for those considered the most guilty to be 
sent to England for trial. 

The young patriots of Princeton were not backward 
in denouncing this injustice; they kindled amongst 
themselves the fire of patriotism, that was never to 
be extinguished, and their efforts were encouraged by 
their patriotic president. Many of Philip's classmates 
took an active part in later troubles, and left their 
names inscribed in their country's annals. 

Nearly all his college-mates obtained prominence 
in the paths they entered in after life. Amongst 
these were Hugh Henry Brackenridge, the talented 
author and judge ; Brockholst Livingston,^ future Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of the United States ; 
William Bradford, Attorney General during Wash- 
ington's second term of office ; Gunning Bedford, a 
framer of the Constitution ; Samuel Spring, chaplain 
to the Revolutionary army ; who, by a strange coin- 
cidence, carried wounded from the field another old 
classmate, Aaron Burr, afterwards Vice President of 
the United States ; Aaron Ogden, afterwards Governor 
of New Jersey; Henry Lee^ Light-Horse Harry; and 
James Madison, the fourth President, who was Philip's 
room-mate while in college, as well as his warm per- 
sonal friend, and an aspirant, as we have already seen, 
for the hand of his sister. 

Philip Fithian, class of 73, in a letter to his father,^ 

1 This college-mate was afterwards related to Philip by marriage. 
8 Philip Vickers Fithian, Journal and Letters. 

\74\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

gives us an idea of the routine of college life in 
Nassau Hall during President Witherspoon's admin- 
istration. He says the rules were exceedingly well 
formed " to check & restrain the vicious & to 
assist the studious, & to countenance & encourage 
the virtuous." The bell for rising was rung at five 
o'clock, and lest any one might oversleep themselves, 
the servant, after ringing the bell, knocked at each 
door until the sleeper awoke. Half an hour was 
allowed for them to dress, after which prayers were 
said in common. The grammar scholars, being mostly 
small boys, were excused during winter from morn- 
ing prayers. On Sundays no student was allowed, 
except by reason of sickness, to be absent from pub- 
lic worship. Two sermons were preached, one in 
church in the morning, and another in the college 
hall in the afternoon. He styles Dr. Witherspoon's 
sermons almost inimitable. It is to be feared that 
some of the gifted preacher's moral lessons were lost 
upon a few of his hearers, as in a later letter Fithian 
writes : " I am sorry that I may inform you that two 
of our members were expelled from the college, not 
for Drunkenness, nor Fighting, nor for Swearing, nor 
Sabbath-Breaking. But they were sent from this 
Seminary, where the greatest Pains and Care are taken 
to cultivate and encourage Decency, & Honesty, & 
Honour, for stealing Hens ! " In 1773, o*^^ Israel 
Evans mentions some delinquencies of a higher 
grade, in which the future Justice of the United 
States along with some others were fined for " stealing 
Turkies." In that year 1770 there were upward of 
one hundred students, including the grammar scholars. 
The Senior class contained ten, the Junior twenty- 
eight, the Sophomore twenty-five, and Freshman eigh- 
teen. Freneau was a Senior at the time. 

During Philip's first year we are told he made 
such rapid progress as to cause the President to 

[7i] . 



Philip Frcncau 



make his proficiency the subject-matter ot a letter 
to his mother. It is said that in his early days, 
Philip gave such evidence of his satirical powers 
upon whatever gave him displeasure as to cause him 
to be as much dreaded as a toe as he was loved as a 
friend. 

In his sophomore vear he wrote a poem in four 
cantos, entitled ''The Poetical History of the Prophet 
Jonah ; " a rhvthmical poem, or " versified paraphrase," 
to use his own expression. He likewise wrote other 
compositions in various metres, on classical and 
historical themes, during his collegiate course. Two 
vears after depicting Jonah's sad tate, he wrote the 
" Pvramids ot Egvpt," a dramatic dialogue in blank 
verse. The scene of this poem is laid in Egypt, and 
the characters are a Traveller, a Genius, and Time; it 
contains one hundred and thirty-five lines, and was 
considered a remarkable poem for one so young. The 
plot of the poem we give. 

The Traveller, who has visited Italy, arrives in 
EQ;vpt, meets the Genius, and asks to be shown the 
Pvramids, savin^j that he thought the remnants of 
Rome he had lately seen were unrivalled. The 
Genius thus answers : — 

*•* Talk not of Rome ! before thev lopt a bush 

From the seven hills, where Rome, Eanh's Empress, stood. 
These Pyramids were old, their birthday is 
Bevond tradition's reach, or history." 

On seeing them, the Traveller asks how many 
generations, monarchies, and empires — 

••'had their rise and fall 
While these remain and promise to remain. 
As long as vonder sun shall gild their summits. 
Or moon, or stan>, their wonted circles run." 

[ 76 J 



The Poet of the Revolution 

The Genius replies : — 

" The time shall come 
When these stupendous piles you deem immortal, 
Worn out with age shall moulder on their bases, 
And down, down, low to endless ruin verging, 
O'er-whelmed by dust, be seen and known no more. 

'T was on this plain the ancient Memphis stood. 
Her walls encircled these tall pyramids, — 
But where is Pharao's palace, where the domes 
Of Egypt's haughty lords ? — All, all, are gone, 
And like the phantom snows of a May morning 
Left not a vestige to discover them ! " 

To the Traveller's question as to how the Pyramids 
were built, the Genius says : — 

"What cannot tyrants do. 
When they have nations subject to their will, 
And the world's wealth to gratify ambition ? 
Millions of slaves beneath their labors fainted. 
Who here were doomed to toil incessantly, 
And years elapsed while groaning myriads strove 
To raise this mighty tomb, — and but to hide 
The worthless bones of an Egyptian king." 

The poem closes with Time's address to the Traveller 
in these striking lines : — 

" These piles are not immortal ; 
This earth, with all its balls of hills and mountains, 
Shall perish by my hand. Then how can these, 
These hoary-headed pyramids of Egypt, 
That are but dwindled warts upon her body. 
That on a little, little spot of ground 
Extinguish the dull radiance of the sun, 
Be proof to death and me ! Traveler, return, 
There 's naught but God immortal — He alone 
Exists secure, when Man, and Death, and Time, 

V77\ 



Philip Freneau 



(Time not immortal, but a fancied point in the circle of 

eternity) 
Are swallowed up, and like the pyramids, 
Leave not an atom for their monument." 

" Is not this true poetry ? " Mr. Delancey adds. 
" Is it not extraordinary as the work of a youth of 
eighteen years? But one other American poet ever 
wrote anything to compare with it so early in life. 
Bryant wrote at nineteen his ' Thanatopsis,' and 
never later did he surpass that great poem." ^ 

In the year 1770 the soldiers in New York City cut 
down a liberty pole that had been erected by the band 
of patriots called the "Sons of Liberty." A conflict 
ensued in which the latter won the day. Shortly after 
this event the Boston massacre occurred, which created 
a great sensation throughout the country. As we 
have already said, President Witherspoon was an 
ardent patriot, and he left no means untried to instil 
into the minds of his collegians the same fire of 
enthusiasm that burned within him ; and his efforts 
met a ready response in the enthusiastic temperament 
of Philip, whose hatred of oppression and of England 
was equalled only by his passionate love of liberty and 
America. During his college days the young poet 
offered his pen on the shrine of Liberty, and vowed to 
ever use it in her sacred service. How well he used 
it, her enemies best can tell. His pen was his bayonet, 
and its wounds were mortal. 

In 177 1, the year of Philip's graduation, he composed, 
jointly with Hugh Henry Brackenridge, their com- 
mencement address, which they recited. It was entitled 
" The Rising Glory of America," and was written in 

1 I am indebted to Mr. Edward F. Delancey for permission to reprint 
this fragment of the poem along with his remarks which are taken from 
his lecture before the Huguenot Society of America entitled " Philip 
Freneau the Huguenot Patriot Poet of the Revolution and his Poetry." 

[7<?] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

blank verse in the form of a dialogue. It was in 
eulogy of the energy and progress of the colonies, and 
prophetic of the future glory of the United States. 
The poem was well received and appeared two years 
later in print in Philadelphia. Its motto, taken from 
Seneca, was afterwards adopted by Washington Irving 
as the heading to his " Life of Columbus." 

I would call the attention of the reader to his eulogy 
of Washington in the poem which is used as the 
dedicatory poem of this work ; his admiration of that 
illustrious man's character never waned, although in 
after years many and severe were his comments upon 
his policy. 

This poem has been said by a reviewer^ to possess 
" considerable merit in respect to the ease of its versi- 
^ation and beauty of its description; and although as 
a whole it bears the marks of youth, some points are 
worthy of a person of mature years, and will not suffer 
by comparison with similar productions of the present 
day." In it he has displayed his remarkable prophetic 



gift. 



The ivy planted by the class of '71 still clasps in its 
embrace the old walls that supported it during the 
many varied and thrilling scenes through which it 
passed ; but the hands that planted it have long since 
turned to dust. 

Upon leaving college, Philip, to comply with the 
desire of his deceased father that he should study 
divinity, accepted an invitation from Hugh Henry 
Brackenridge, his former classmate and fellow-orator 
of '71, to take the second position in a seminary in 
Maryland, of which he, Brackenridge, was to be 
principal, and at the same time pursue his theological 
course. 

It would seem from the letter to Madison while 
with Brackenridge, that in the interim of his leaving 

^ North American Review, v. xciii. 

\79\ 



Philip Freneau 



Princeton and beginning his course of teaching and 
study in the Maryland seminary, he had tried his 
hand at pedagogy in Flatbush, Long Island ; we will 
let him describe his non-success in that occupation 
which he held some thirteen days. 

Somerset County in Maryland. 

November 22, 1772. 

Sir, — If I am not wrongly informed by my memory, I 
have not seen you since last April. You may recollect I was 
then undertaking a school at Flatbush on Long Island. I did 
enter upon the business, it is certain, and continued in it 
thirteen days — but Long Island I have bid adieu, with all 
its brainless crew. The youth of that detested place, are 
void of reason and of grace. From Flushing hills to Flat- 
bush plains, Deep ignorance unrivall'd reigns. I am very 
poetical, but excuse it. ' Si fama non venit ad aures,' if you 
have not heard the rumour of this story (which, by the by, 
is told in various Taverns and eating houses), you must allow 
me to be a little prolix with it. Those who employed me 
were some gentlemen of New York ; some of them were 
bullies, some merchants, and others Scoundrels. They sent 
me Eight children, the eldest of whom was 10 years. Some 
could read, others spell and a few stammer over a chapter 
of the Bible. These were my pupils and over these was 
I to preside. My Salary moreover was ^^40, — there is 
something else relating to that I shall not at present mention. 
After I forsook them they proscribed me for four days and 
swore that if I was caught in New York they would either 
Trounce or maim me, but I luckily escaped with my goods 
to Princetown, where I remained till commencement — so 
much for this affair. I have printed a poem in New York 
called " The American Village," containing about four hun- 
dred and fifty lines, also a few short pieces added ; I would 
send you one if I had a proper opportunity — the additional 
poems are : i. " A Poem to the Nymph I never saw," " The 
Miserable Life of a Pedagogue," and Stanzas on " An ancient 
Dutch House on Long Island." As to the main poem, it is 
damned by all good and judicious Judges. My name is in the 

{8o\ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

title page ; this is called vanity by some — but " who so fond 
as a youthful bard of fame ? " I arrived at this Sommerset 
Academy the i8th of October and intend to remain here till 
next October. I am assistant to M": Brackenridge. This 
is the last time I shall enter into such a business ; it worries 
me to death and by no means suits my " giddy, wandering 
brain." I would go over for the gown this time two years, 
but the old hag necessity has got such a prodigious gripe 
of me that I fear I shall never be able to accomplish it. I 
believe if I cannot make this out I must turn quack — and 
indeed I am now reading Physic at my leisure hours, that is, 
when I am neither sleeping, hearing classes, or writing 
Poetry. For these three take up all my time. It is now 
late at night ; not an hour ago I finished a little poem of 
about 400 lines, entitled a Journey to Maryland, being the 
sum of my adventures. It begins : " From that fam'd town 
where Hudson's flood unites with streams perhaps as good. 
Muse, has your bard begun to roam" — & I intend to write 
a terrible Satire upon certain vicious persons of quality in 
N. Y. — who have also used me ill — and print it next fall; 
it shall contain 5 or 600 Lines. Sometimes I write pastorals 
to shew my Wit, — 

" Deep to the woods, I sing a Shepherd's care. 
Deep to the woods, Cyllenius calls me there. 
The last retreat of Love and Verse. I go. 
Verse made me mad at first and — will keep me so." 

I should have been glad to have heard from you before now. 
While I was at College I had but a short participation of your 
agreeable friendship, and the few persons I converse with and 
yet fewer whose conversation I delight in, make me regret 
the Loss of it. I have met with a variety of rebuffs this year, 
which I forbear to mention. I look like an unmeaning Teague 
just turned out of the hold of an Irish ship. Coming down 
hither I met with a rare adventure at Annapolis. I was desti- 
tute even of a brass farthing. I got clear very handsomely. 
Could one expect even to see you again ? if I travel through 
Virginia I shall stop and talk with you a day or two. I should 
be very glad to receive a Letter from you if it can be con- 
veniently forwarded. In short, " Non sum qualis eram " 

[<5] {8l\ 



Philip Freneau 



as Partridge says in Tom Jones. My hair is grown like a 
mop and I have a huge tuft of Beard directly upon my chin. 
I want but five weeks of twenty-one years of age, and already 
feel stiff with age. We have about 30 students in this 
Academy, who prey upon me like Leaches. When shall 
I quit this whimpering Jack, and hide my head in Acomack ? 
Shall I leave them and go " Where Pokomoke's long stream 
meandring flows " ? Excuse this prodigious Scraw] — without 
stile or verse. I send this by M": Luther Martin, who will 
forward it to Colonel Lee, and he to you, I hope. M^. Martin 
lives in Acomack in Virginia, this side the bay. Farewell, 
and be persuaded I remain your 

truly humble Servt. and friend, 

Ph. F-r-e-n-e-a-u. 

Finding in himself no signs of vocation to the 
ministry, Philip took up the study of law, but after 
a time he found it too dry for his poetic tempera- 
ment, and instead he occupied the time left from his 
professional duties in writing for the press articles 
of such a nature as to stir up love and enthusiasm 
for liberty, and a detestation of Britain's galling yoke. 
" He was the poet of hatred, and he carefully trained 
himself for his function as a stern political satirist, by 
studying the Roman and French masterpieces in 
satire ; he began his career at a fortunate moment 
when just such a satirist was needed and when the 
\ materials for such satire — sincere, wrathful, Juvenalian 
/ satire — were furnished to him in abundance by the 
conduct of the English government and its civil 
and military representatives in America." ^ Upon 
the breaking out of the war Philip returned to Phila- 
delphia and threw himself heart and soul into the 
interests of his country, endeavoring by his pen to 
throw off at once and forever the yoke of foreign 
servitude. 

The colonists were not desirous of severing all 

1 Professor Tyler, 
\82\ 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

connection with the mother country, and were quite 
willing to make any concessions to preserve their 
former relations with it ; and therefore contented 
themselves with merely endeavoring to maintain the 
rights guaranteed them by their charters and ratified 
by the Constitution, 

They acted solely on the defensive, hoping to gain 
redress for their grievances by another petition to the 
Crown. 

Philip was no conservative ; and, finding his coun- 
trymen too slow in making use of the golden oppor- 
tunity now offered of making themselves independent, 
and fearing that further concessions from the Crown 
might adjust the present difficulty, he determined 
not to witness the total overthrow of all his cherished 
hopes; he therefore accepted an invitation from a 
West Indian gentleman by the name of Hanson, to 
visit him in his island home. This gentleman owned 
a large plantation in the island of Jamaica, and sailed 
as master of his own ship. 

During the passage the mate died : and Philip's 
love of the sea led him to offer himself to fill his 
place, and also to study navigation ; of which branch 
of science he soon made himself a master. 

While in Jamaica he recorded his detestation of 
the cruelties of slavery in a poem addressed to Sir 
Tobey, a planter on that island : — 

" If there exists a Hell — the case is clear 
Sir Tobey's slaves enjoy ,that portion here." 

It is probable that if Philip ever made a second visit 
to that island. Sir Tobey did not receive him as favor- 
ably as he did upon the first visit. 

From Jamaica, Philip visited the Danish Island of 
Santa Cruz, where his poetic nature revelled in the 
natural beauties of the scenery, which he enjoyed to 
the fullest extent. He loved to watch the great soft 



Philip Frcneau 



waves folding themselves gently and noiselessly over 
beaches of the whitest sand ; the brilliant water, now 
sparkling like sapphire in the sunlight, and again 
paling into the most delicate turquoise hue when 
shadowed by a passing cloud ; the long sea-grasses 
of crimson and amber waving to and fro in the 
water, or tossed here and there when a slight breeze 
ruffled its bosom ; the gauzy-winged fishes as they 
skimmed over the waves, reflecting the colors of 
the rainbow, — 

*'Some streak'd with burnish'd gold, resplendent glare, 
Some cleave the limpid deep, all silver'd o'er. 
Some clad in living green, delight the eye. 
Some red, some blue ; of mingled colors more." 

He admired the vari-colored houses, of delicate tints 
of pink, yellow, and blue, nestling in a rich setting of 
different shades of green : — 

*' Among the shades of vonder whispering grove 
The green palmettocs mingle, tall and fair, 
That ever murmur, and forever move 
Fanning with wavy bough the ambient air. 

'* Sweet orange groves in lovelv vallies rise. 
And drop their fruits, unnotic'd and unknown, 
The coolinsT, acid limes in hedges grow, 
The juicy lemons swell in shades their own."^ 

He admired the plantain and banana trees with 
their burdens of luscious fruit ; the crimson pome- 
granates and golden pawpaws of the valleys, behind 
which towered the rugged peaks of the volcanic 
ridge clothed with forests of the " guava's stripling 
tree," the smooth white cedar, and the " bay tree 
with its aromatic green," and crowned with the grace- 
ful waving palm. 

^ The Beauties of Santa Cruz. 

i84\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

" Such were the isles which happy Flaccus sung 
Where one tree blossoms while another bears, 
Where Spring, forever gay, and ever young. 
Walks her gay round through her unwearied years." ^ 

All this was very delightful to the poetic side 
of Philip's nature ; but like all that is beautiful 
on earth, it had its dark side in the detestable slavery 
that "cast a shadow over all. ' If you have tears 
to shed, prepare to shed them now,' " he writes : — 

"A description of the cruelties the poor slaves endure 
would be too irksome and unpleasant to me; and to those 
who have not beheld it, would be incredible. Sufficient be 
it to say, that no class of mankind in the known world 
undergo so complete a servitude as the common negroes in 
the West Indies. It casts a pall over the natural charms of 
the country, it blots out the beauties of the eternal spring 
which providence has there ordained to reign ; and amidst 
all the profusion of bounties which nature has scattered — 
the brightness of the heaven, the mildness of the air, and the 
luxuriancy of the vegetable kingdom — it leaves me melan- 
choly and disconsolate, convinced that there is no pleasure 
in this world without its share of pain. And thus the earth, 
which, were it not for the lust of pride and dominion, might 
be an earthly paradise, is, by the ambition and overbearing 
nature of mankind rendered an eternal scene of desolation, 
woe, and horror ; the weak goes to the wall, while the strong 
prevails ; and after our ambitious frenzy has turned the world 
upside down we are contented with a narrow spot, and leave 
our follies and cruelties to be acted over again by every suc- 
ceeding generation." 

It was during his sojourn upon this island that 
he wrote his poems entitled, " The Beauties of Santa 
Cruz," and the " House of Night." The latter poem 
is a weird thing " founded upon the authority of 
the Scripture, inasmuch as these sacred books assert, 

^ The Beauties of Santa Cruz. 

{85 \ 



Philip Freneau 



that the last enemy that shall be conquered is Death." 
Death is herein personified and represented on his 
dying bed. This scene is in a soHtary place, and the 
time midnight. An amiable, majestic youth who has 
but lately suffered from his aggression, Death having 
carried off his beloved wife, with a noble fortitude and 
humanity entertains him, although an enemy ; thus 
carrying into practice the divine precept, " If thine 
enemy hunger., feed him; if he thirst., give him drink.'' 
The poem concludes with some reflection on the 
impropriety of too great an attachment to this present 
life, and incentives to such moral virtue as may assist 
in conducting to a better one. 

He describes it as a " fearful vision at the midnight 
hour." 

" Such was the dream the sage Chaldean saw 

Disclosed to him that felt heav'n's vengeful rod 
Such was the ghost, who through deep silence crv'd, 
^ Shall mortal man be fuster than his God ? ' " 

The poem contains one hundred and thirty-six 
stanzas, having been increased from the original seventy- 
three. 

The latter stanzas contain the moral, — 

" What is this Death, ve deep read sophists, say ? 
Death is no more than one unceasing change ; 
New forms arise, while other forms decay, 
Yet all is Life throughout creation's range. 

" The towering Alps, the haughty Appenine, 
The Andes wrapped in everlasting «now, 
The Appalachian and the Arrarat 
Sooner or later must to ruin go. 

" Hills sink to plains, and man returns to dust. 
That dust supports a reptile or a flower ; 
Each changeful atom by some other nurs'd 
Takes some new form, to perish in an hour. 

[S6\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

"Too nearly join'd to sickness, toils and pains, 
( Perhaps for former crimes imprison'd here ) 
True to itself the immortal soul remains, 

And seeks new mansions in the starry sphere. 

" When Nature bids thee from the world retire. 
With Joy thy lodging leave, a fated guest. 
In Paradise, the land of thy desire. 
Existing always, always to be blest." 

Both of these poems have been changed since 
originally written in Santa Cruz, and they have been 
lengthened considerably, the former being increased 
from fifty-two to one hundred and nine stanzas, and 
the latter, as we have already stated, from seventy-three 
to one hundred and thirty-six stanzas. 

Most of Freneau's poems have been greatly changed 
in later editions of his works. He was given to review- 
ing, which exhibits the care he bestowed upon his pro- 
ductions; but which perhaps caused them to lose some 
of their original bouquet, if we may use this word in 
such connection. 

It is doubtful if so much revision is beneficial to 
such spontaneous productions as poetry is supposed 
to be, and marked by more or less of inspira- 
tion. Revision usually being done in moments in 
which that fire burns low, if at all, it would not 
be surprising if the various parts of such a whole 
would seem to be somewhat lacking in harmony of 
sentiment. 

In his " House of Night " Freneau has acknowl- 
edged this fact, although he was not alluding to 
reviewing : — 

" Stranger, believe the truth experience tells, — 
Poetic dreams are of a finer cast 
Than those which o'er the sober brain diffus'd 
Are but a repetition of some action past." 

\S7\ 



Philip Freneau 



Returning northward, Philip stopped at the Ber- 
mudas ; and remained there some six months as a 
guest of the governor. The reason of his prolonged 
stay in these islands may be accounted for by the 
numerous sonnets addressed to the fair Amanda, the 
amiable daughter of his host. And while Philip sipped 
the governor's wine and basked in the smiles of his fair 
daughter, his first pure love, fair Liberty, lay bleeding 
in the dust ; and the pen he had vowed to her service 
was employed in depicting the charms of her rival. 



\88\ 



V. 



Chapter Sixth 



WHILE Philip was still a collegian, and even 
indeed a schoolboy, his cousin, John Morin 
Scott, whom we have already mentioned, 
was actively engaged in the affairs of the colony, and 
had already formed ideas of its future freedom. Per- 
haps, indeed, it was from him that Philip drew some 
of his enthusiasm on the subject, as, being considerably 
his senior in years, Scott's opinions would have great 
weight with his fatherless young cousin. 

Morin Scott was in reality Philip's father's cousin, 
their mothers, Mrs. Andre Freneau and Mrs. Scott, 
being sisters. Both of these men were gifted with the 
enthusiastic nature of their French parentage ; but 
Morin Scott was not so easily carried away by his feel- 
ings as was his young cousin, — whether it was from 
the fact of his early education having been in less 
exciting times, thus giving him time to learn self- 
control before the soul-stirring events that imme- 
diately preceded the Revolution, or from his habits 
of logical thought engendered by his steady appli- 
cation to his profession. It may have been partly due 
to the mixture of Scotch blood in his veins, — his 
father being a descendant of the ancient Scotch barons 
of Ancram.^ 

Morin Scott's birth antedated Philip's some twenty- 
two years ; he was graduated from Yale College in the 
year 1746, and had finished his law course before Philip 
was born. His marriage took place about the time of 
his cousin's birth. Scott's wife was Helena, daughter 

^ Miss Scott of Ancram, whose name appears amongst the British 
poets, was a member of this family. 



^ 




Philip Freneau 



of Peter Rutger and Elizabeth Williams,^ the daughter 
of a naval officer of the Port of New York ; their 
children were: Mary, born July 17, 1753; Louis 
Allaire, afterwards Secretary of State, born February 
II, 1754; John Morin, Jr., born May 9, 1755, and 
baptized by the Reverend Aaron Burr^ June 15, 1755 ; 
and Peter Rutger born July 6, 1756. 

Scott was a stanch whig in the ante-bellum days, 
and was devoted to the interests of his country ; he 
was considered one of the most eminent lawyers of 
the time. We find his name in O'Callaghan's " Docu- 
mentary History" as being retained by Jacob Daller, 
who arrived in New York in the year 1765 and 
invited himself into the pastorate of the French Church, 
threatening the Consistory to carry the matter into 
court if they did not receive him. Trouble ensuing, 
Morin Scott and William Smith ^ were retained by the 
aforesaid self-appointee, who was advised by them to 
submit his difference with the church to arbitration. 
The Consistory threatened the lawyers for the act and 
asked for an interview, which was held in the room of 
the Consistory. After a long and painful process of 
litigation and personal antagonism Mr. Daller set out 
for London the year following. 

In 1754 we find Scott's name in the records of the 
French church, of which he does not seem to have 
been a member, as a witness, along with his cousin 
Andre Freneau, Jr., to the marriage of their mutual 
cousin Marie Allaire ; the marriage being held at the 
house of the bride's parents. 

As we have stated in a preceding chapter. Governor 
Dongan, upon assuming the administration, had given 
the colony its first Legislative Assembly ; which con- 

^ This lady was step-daughter to Col. Fred. Phillpse, the last proprie- 
tor of Philipse Manor of Philipseburgh. 

2 Father to Aaron Burr the vice-president. 

^ William Smith married a daughter of John Adams. 

\9o\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

sisted of the governor, two counsellors, and represen- 
tatives chosen by the people to represent each ward, 
who were elected annually. Scott had been for five 
years, or from 1757 to 1762 successively, chosen to 
represent the " Out-ward," which comprised Harlem 
and all that district outside of the city's wall. 

During the second attempt made by Parliament in 
the year 1761 to enforce the Importation Act, the 
colonial courts were authorized to issue Writs of 
Assistance, or search-warrants, to constables to enable 
them to effect an entrance into any locality in which 
there was the slightest suspicion of goods that had 
evaded the duty being concealed ; and such goods 
were liable to be seized by those officers. William 
Smith, William Livingston, and John Morin Scott, all 
three eminent lawyers, protested through the public 
print against these proceedings : they claimed that the 
judiciary was not dependent upon the king ; and they 
protested against the search warrants being issued, 
denying the government the right of instituting the 
search. 

In Boston, James Otis denounced the Act as un- 
constitutional, and in a masterly address pleaded the 
rights of the colonists, — which produced a great 
sensation throughout all the colonies ; and hints of 
resistance even to arms were thrown out. 

After the passage of the Stamp Act in the year 1765, 
although it was not in itself oppressive, Scott publicly 
resented its being carried into effect, as being illegal 
and unconstitutional. He, as well as all patriots, 
claimed that, as British subjects, the Constitution was 
as dear to them as to all those born in England ; and it 
provided against all forced loans by the Crown, which 
was in reality taxation without representation. The 
Act was carried into effect, however, and the colonists 
divided themselves into two parties; the one uphold- 
ing the king and styled Tories, and the Whigs, who 

\9i\ 



Philip FrcNcau 



deemed it hut right to resent even to death all acts of 
tyranny. The contest between these parties was fiill 
of bitterness, and the members of one heaped abuse 
on those of the other without mercy. The public 
printers, Rivington on the one side, and Hugh Gaines 
on the other, tried their utmost to fan the flames, which 
spread in all directions. 

The other colonies took up the matter, and tinally 
James Otis, JSlassachusetts' eloquent orator, suggested 
that without leave of the king, each colony should 
appoint delegates to meet in a congress to discuss the 
affairs of the nation. To this proposition all the 
colonies agreed ; the day set for it to convene was 
October 7, 1765, and by common consent New York 
City was chosen as the place in which it would be held. 
Nine of the thirteen States were represented, and the 
tuimber of delegates was twenty-eight, John Morin 
Scott representing New York. Timothy Ruggles was 
elected president of the Congress, and two papers were 
drawn up ; one ot which was a Declaration of Rights, 
and the other an Address to the King. The former 
set forth that as Knglisli subjects the American 
colonists could not and would not consent to be taxed 
but by their own representatives. The paper to the 
king was a humble petition for a more just and 
humane course of action towards his loyal subjects in 
America. Memorials were also addressed to the two 
houses of Parliament. At the Congress it was decided 
to abandon the use of all such goods as were imported 
from England, and to stop all commerce between the 
mother country and the colonies, until she should 
desist from her illegal efforts to tax them. 

A society was then formed called the " Sons of 
Liberty ; " meetings were held during the summer 
months, and sharp eves watched all proceedings. The 
paper at length arrived, no notice having been taken 
of their petition ; therefore the tirst night after the 

[9^ J 



T^he Poet of the Revolution 

night rattle had gone his rounds, billets were hastily 
posted on trees throughout the city which read — 

PRO PATRIA! 

^he first man thai distributes or makes use of stamped 
paper ^ let him take care of his house and effects. 

Vox POPULI ^ 

James McKvers had been appointed stamp collector 
for New York, but as he owned a handsome residence 
near Hanover Square, he thought it wiser to resign 
his office than his house ; and no one being found to 
fill his vacated position, the paper found no " local 
habitation " and was relegated to the fort. 

The Sons of Liberty held their meetings at what was 
then known as the Fields, — now City Hall Park ; and 
here platforms were erected, and the population met to 
listen to the exhortations of the tribunes, amongst 
whom were Oliver Delancy, John Jay, Alexander 
McDougall, Isaac Sears, Robert and Philip Livingston, 
John Morin Scott, John Lamb, Peter Curtentius, 
Alexander Hamilton, and others. On the opposite 
side were Cadwallader Colden, Thomas Gage, Revs. 
Myles Cooper and Auchmuchty, Samuel Bayard, 
S. H. Cruger, D. Harsmonden, and others. 

The thirty-first of October, the day the governor was 
to take the oath to carry the Act into effect, was kept 
as a day of public mourning; and in the evening two 
hundred leading merchants met in the City Arms 
Coffee House, and passed a resolution to import no 
more goods from England until the Act was repealed. 
The following day a meeting was held in the Fields, 
after which the Sons of Liberty marched to the fort 
and gave the governor's house, in which the paper was 
stored, a house-warming. 

The Act was repealed, and the following June, upon 
» Todd. 



Philip Freneau 



the king's birthday, his loyal sons set up a liberty 
pole to commemorate the joyful event and also his 
great clemency in repealing the Act ; but some way the 
soldiers did not see it quite in this light and they 
pulled it down. Again and again it was raised, and 
again and again it was levelled ; until, to save time in 
future, the " Sons " braced it with iron to the height 
of seventy-three feet from the ground, and after that 
it was " let live." 

When the news of Boston's tea party reached New 
York, the " Sons " met together and formed a resolu- 
tion that no tea should land at the wharves ot the city. 
The mayor tried to induce them to allow it to land 
and remain until it could be placed, but they decidedly 
refused it hospitality, not allowing it to remain tor 
even one night in the fort, after which the meeting 
adjourned until the tea should arrive. 

After a long delay the " Nancy," * that was supposed 
to have the tea, hove in sight in a most pitiable condi- 
tion : one mast was gone, an anchor had been lost, and 
she had met with various other mishaps. But the 
hearts of the " Sons " were not touched by her plight : 
they bade her remain at the length of the harbor, 
and a committee was appointed to watch her until she 
should be sufficiently repaired to make a return trip 
with her tea. The sailors were not allowed to land, 
lest they might not be ready when wanted ; but her 
captain was escorted to the city and advised to make 
preparations for an earlv return, but was forbidden 
to enter the Custom House. 

As soon as the " Nancy " was ready, the Com- 
mittee of Safetv, of which Morin Scott was a member, 
waited upon the captain at his lodgings, and a pro- 
cession was formed to escort him to the sloop that 
was to bear him to his " Nancy," and he marched to 
the sound of martial music and the ringing of bells. 

1 The tea in reality was in another ship. 

\94\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

It was a veritable sight for the American small boy. 
Every ship in the harbor ran up its colors, and the 
liberty pole was graced with bunting ; and with the 
roar of artillery the captain sailed away, and he and 
his " Nancy " were heard of no more. 

About noon of Sunday, the twenty-third of April 
in the year 1775, four days after the Battle of Lex- 
ington, Scott, along with other members of the Com- 
mittee of Safety, were assembled in the committee 
room on Broadway, when a rider hastily drew up 
and, dismounting, handed them a paper. It was to ap- 
prise them of the fact of the mother country having 
been the first to shed the blood of her children, and 
that all that was left for them was to defend themselves ; 
therefore the Massachusetts Committee of Safety had 
resolved to enlist eight thousand men. After reading 
it the Committee endorsed it, and the rider started 
on his way southward. 

The news was speedily made public, and there was 
a popular outbreak in the city. The keys of the 
arsenal were not to be found, but the door was forced 
open by the excited populace, and six hundred mus- 
kets and accoutrements were distributed amongst the 
citizens. The fort and magazines were seized and the 
citizens assumed the government of the city. They 
proceeded at once to elect a committee of one hun- 
dred of the most influential inhabitants, to take charge 
of the government; amongst these was Scott. It was 
called the "Committee of One Hundred." 

The soldiery had been ordered to Boston to rein- 
force Gage, and the Committee permitted them to 
depart. They marched to the wharf at the foot of 
Broad Street, where lay the " Asia " ready to receive 
them. Six carts laden with arms and ammunition 
preceded them. At the foot of the street a member 
of the " One Hundred " stepped forward and said that 
the Committee requested them to leave the arms and 

[95] 



Philip Frcncau 



ammunition behind, us tliey belonged to the colony 
and could not be taken out of it ; then taking the 
bridle of the first horse he turned it off towards 
Beaver Street, and the other five followed. The 
soldiers were perniittea to embark. 

During the remainder ot seventv-five and until the 
spring of seventv-six the state ot affairs was sad 
enou2;h. In a letter written bv Morin Scott, dated 
November fifteenth, seventy-five, he describes the 
general feeling. He says: — 

" Even' ortice shut up almost hut Sam Jones', who will 
work for six a day and live accordinglv. All business stag- 
nated ; the citv half deserted for fear <ii a bombardment. A 
new Congress elected. Those for New York you will see 
bv the papers, changed for the better. All staunch Whigs 
now. . . . Nothing from t* other side of the water but a fear- 
ful looking for oi wrath. Our Continental petition most prob- 
ably condemned — the bulk oi the nation, it is said are 
against us and a bloody campaign next summer. But let us 
be prepared for the worst. ^Vho can prize life without 
liberty ! it is a bauble only fit to be thrown away." 

The sprino; and summer of seventv-six were spent 
in equipping and drilling the hastily formed troops 
and in fortifving the city. On the ninth of May the 
Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, in which a 
last appeal was made to the king; and he was informed 
that the colonists had chosen war instead of slavery. 
John Adams, in an address to the assembled patriots, 
spoke of the necessity of having a commander for the 
army, and proposed George Washington as Comman- 
der-in-Chief oi the American armv. Congress con- 
firmed the nomination on the fit'teenth of June, and 
Washington at once repaired to New York and met 
the new Provincial Congress, of which Scott was a 
member, and which was then sitting in the city. 
The Continental Congress had put the quota for New 



The Poet of the Revolution 

York at three thousand men, and the new commander 
conferred with the New York Congress upon their 
equipment and officering, also upon other mihtary 
matters. 

Four regiments were immediately raised, and Scott's 
old companion tribune, and also fellow-member of the 
Committee of One Hundred, y\lexander McDougall, 
was appointed to command one. Another old fellow- 
tribune, John Lamb, was ordered by the Provincial 
Congress to remove some of the guns from Fort 
George to the passes by the Hudson. While fulfilling 
the order on the night of August twenty-third, a launch 
belonging to the " Asia," a British ship, fired upon his 
men. Lamb returned fire, and killed one man and 
wounded several other men ; the " Asia " then opened a 
broadside into the city, and some of Lamb's men were 
wounded, and most of the inhabitants fled. The Com- 
mittee of One Hundred ordered that as the ship had 
fired upon New York she should have no more com- 
munication with it, and that in future all communica- 
tions should be with Governor's Island. 

After the British had evacuated Boston and Wash- 
ington had formally taken possession, the latter 
brought his army to New York, where he was met by 
Lee with his Connecticut forces, who had come just 
in time to baffle the plans of Sir Henry Clinton, who 
had arrived off Sandy Hook for a descent upon the 
city, but instead sailed southward. 

The mother country now levied twenty-five thou- 
sand English troops and seventeen thousand Hessians, 
and ordered an immense squadron to attempt the re- 
duction of her colonies ; and they, seeing no more 
hope of an amicable settlement, urged their general 
assemblies to take some definite step toward their 
independence of Great Britain. Morin Scott, being a 
member of assembly, met with the other members in 
council, and they urged Congress to declare formally 

[7] \97\ 



Philip Freneau 



the independence of the United Colonies. Congress 
responded by recommending the different colonies to 
adopt such government as might best conduce to the 
safety and welfare of the people ; and the result, after 
much deliberation, was the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, which was adopted by Congress July fourth, 
seventy-six. 

On the ninth of the month, at six o'clock in the 
evening, the troops assembled in the Fields, and 
formed in a hollow square at the lower end, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief on horseback being in the centre, 
and the Declaration of Independence was read aloud 
by one of his aids. At the conclusion three hearty 
cheers were given. The following morning it was 
read at White Plains, and after it the Provincial 
Congress pledged themselves to " sustain it at the risk 
of their lives and fortunes." The Provincial Congress 
then despatched a messenger to their delegates in the 
Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, em- 
powering them to vote in the name of the New York 
colony for its adoption, and ordered it to be proclaimed 
in the city of New York by beat of drum, and to be 
read publicly from the City Hall in Wall Street. 

All efforts were now directed to preparing for war. 
Scott was appointed to assist in sustaining Washington, 
with the rank of brigadier-general, and was appointed to 
hold and fortify Long Island. Powerful works were 
constructed on Brooklyn Heights to command New 
York, this point being the key of the whole position. 
The army was divided into five divisions under Gen- 
erals Putnam, Sullivan, Greene, Knox, and Stirling. 
Aaron Burr, then aged twenty years, was on Putnam's 
staff, and Alexander Hamilton, a youth of nineteen, 
held the position of captain of battery. 

I find by comparison of dates that Morin Scott held 
several positions at the same time, one overlapping two 
or more others ; but as I have the facts from public 



The Poet of the Revolution 

records, it may be accounted for in this way : " It is 
common," a writer^ has said in speaking of the times, 
" to see several offices in the hands of a single person 
who perhaps was a colonel, a judge of probate, jus- 
tice of the peace, member of the legislature," etc. 

The British had now concentrated their forces, 
amounting to thirty thousand men, nearly half of 
whom were Hessians, in the vicinity of New York. 
Washington's army was greatly inferior to them in 
numbers as well as in equipment and discipline. 

On the twenty-second of August ten thousand 
British troops landed on Long Island under Howe, 
Tryon, Clinton, and Cornwallis. The American army, 
being only eight thousand strong, was posted around 
Brooklyn. On the twenty-seventh of August Gen- 
eral Grant's division of the British army proceeded as 
far as Greenwood Cemetery, where General Stirling 
met him with fifteen hundred men, and hostilities 
commenced, with no decisive result. General Heister, 
in command of the British centre, advanced beyond 
Flatbush and engaged the main body of the Ameri- 
cans under Sullivan ; but they gained little until the 
latter was made aware that a battle was going on at 
his left. 

Along the length of the island extended a ridge 
over which no army could pass except at the regular 
passes of Flatbush and Jamaica, and at these points 
videttes had been stationed to give warning of any 
attempt on the part of the British to cross. Putnam, 
towards the north, held the fortified camps. Howe, 
by some strategy, induced the young officers appointed 
to guard the Flatbush pass to advance to meet him ; 
when a portion of his army making a detour captured 
the pass, and only waited for the morning to fold 
around our army. Sullivan's division had been liter- 
ally cut to pieces. Nothing was now left for the 

. I „ _ 1 Henry W. Frost. 

''■"'• V99\ 



Philip Freneau 



patriots but to yield the position ; and Washington, 
with his wonderful tact, that caused his retreats to rank 
next to victories, collected all the boats possible. A 
motley assembly, surely, and I doubt if ever such a 
fleet was seen before ; sloops, schooners, whale-boats, 
periaugers, and rowing-galleys worked all night, and 
morning gave to the enemy only a few worthless guns. 
Sullivan, Stirling, and Woodhull, with nearly one 
thousand patriots, were missing from the day's battle. 
The English hastily crossed in pursuit, and the patri- 
ots tried to escape across the island, having landed at 
different points in New York. Scott's brigade crossed 
at Fifteenth Street, and making a detour of the city 
reached Harlem Plains, where he met the other strag- 
glers. Too much praise cannot be awarded to Mrs. 
Murray,^ whose large farm-house stood at the junction 
of the present Thirty-fourth Street and Lexington 
Avenue, then a large farm. Here by her tact she 
entertained Howe's men with her good cheer, and him- 
self and officers by her gracious hospitality, till the 
Americans had crossed the island and were safely in- 
trenched on Harlem Heights. 

The American army was now obliged to leave New 
York, and Washington wrote to Governor Turnbull 
that the Provincial Congress had resolved not to in- 
jure the city ; but a fire broke out, no one knew how 
it originated, and the greater part of the city was de- 
stroyed. This fire consumed the Huguenot church. 

In this year Captain Nathan Hale was arrested by 
the British, who now held the city, and was executed 
in the orchard belonging to the family of Scott's wife, 
Helena Rutger. It took place on what is now East 
Broadway, a little above Franklin Square. 

On the fourth of June, 1777, the New York con- 
vention met at Windsor; and the inhabitants of the 
grant known as New Connecticut elected some depu- 

* Mother of Lindley Murray, the grammarian. 
[ 100 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

ties to " sitt " at the said convention, at which it was 
declared that the grant should thenceforth be known 
as an independent State, and be called Vermont. A 
certain Williams, writing to the Secretary of the New 
York convention, mentions the affair, and says in re- 
gard to the pending election for Governor : — 

I believe we have been pretty unanimous in the Election 
for governor and Lieutenant Governor, to witt, Gen| Morin 
Scott & Clinton ^ but there were very few that voted. The 
Lott number 68 in Argyle belonging to Gen| Scott, I must 
beg you '11 procure for me in behalf of Cap? Martin, I 'm 
informed som other people are after it. However I am of 
opinion Gen^ Scott will not Lett any one have it without 
giving Cap* Martin the refusal. 

I am dear Sir your very Hum| Serv* 

John Williams.^ 

Morin Scott's name appears in the State Senate 
from the year 1777 to 1782; as a member of Con- 
gress from the year 1779 to 178 1 ; as member of 
the Continental Congress, 1 782-1783 ; as Secretary 
of State of New York from 1778 to 1789 ; and as 
member of Congress, 1780-1783. 

After the battle of White Plains the Americans 
were driven from position after position, and finally 
through the Jerseys to Princeton, Trenton, and into 
Pennsylvania. Then came the battle of Princeton, 
after which the greater part of New Jersey was re- 
covered by the patriots. War was raging all around 
the old homestead, and while our modern Telemachus 
was enjoying his life of dolce far niente in the isles 
of the Atlantic, the courageous Penelope was guard- 
ing the lares and penates of her hearthstone. 

On the twenty-third of July Howe sailed from New 

1 Clinton was nominee for Governor and Scott for Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, although from the letter it would appear 'vice njersa. 

2 Doc. Hist. 



Philip Freneau 



York to attack Philadelphia, then the seat of the Con- 
tinental Congress, and succeeded in reducing it by the 
twenty-sixth of September. Then came the defeat of 
Germantown and the long and dreary winter at Valley 
Forge, and at the close of 1777 the patriot cause 
was nearly ended. Then came the treaty with France, 
and D'Estaing's fleet approached the capital, and on 
the eighteenth of June, 1778, Howe's army evacuated 
Philadelphia and retreated across New Jersey. At 
Monmouth the British were overtaken. 

Sunday the twenty-eighth was an intensely hot day. 
Clinton was moving cautiously and Knyphausen was 
hastening forward on the Middletown road; the left 
wing, following, had passed a mile or more beyond the 
Court House. On the north, outflanking the British, 
were the American columns. Lee advanced from 
the old Monmouth church by the main road, crossing 
two deep ravines upon causeways ; his left wing was 
folding around Cornwallis on the north, occupying 
superior ground ; his centre, under Wayne, was close 
behind ; and his right wing, under Lafayette, was 
already past the Court House, threatening the other 
end of the British lines, whose position was one 
of extreme danger, and there was every prospect of 
a glorious victory for the American army. Wayne 
had just begun a vigorous attack, but a halt was 
ordered by Lee. The British troops came down the 
road to separate Wayne and Lafayette ; but it was 
an easy matter to check them, and the Marquis 
started to do so, but a halt was again ordered by 
Lee, who commanded, instead, a retreat across a 
marshy ravine. On the verge of a victory they were 
compelled to flee, but from what no one knew ; and 
bitter disappointment took the place of their exultant 
ardor of the morning. The enemy began to pursue 
them, and as they crowded over the causeway the 
ranks began to fall into disorder and many sank 

{I02\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

exhausted by the heat, and some were slain by the 
enemy. The Marquis ordered an aid to seek the 
Commander-in-Chief and report the strange conduct 
of Lee. The soldier met him just where the road 
forks not far from the old Monmouth church and 
delivered his message. Washington hastily sprang 
to his horse and soon found himself in the midst 
of the disorder. A halt was ordered, and the retreat- 
ing soldiers immediately wheeled and formed under 
the firing with as much calmness and precision as 
they could have shown on parade. And while they 
stopped the evening's progress Washington rode back 
and brought up the main body of his army, — Greene 
with his battery from the heights, and Wayne from 
the front ; and the British were driven back upon 
the second ravine which Lee had crossed in the 
morning's advance. The gallant Steuben brought 
up from the rear, and night fell. Morning found 
the British troops withdrawn, and America claimed 
a victory. Lord Stanhope saw a drawn battle.^ 

This battle of Monmouth was partly fought on 
the land which fell to Philip's wife as her portion, 
and on which they resided after the flames had de- 
stroyed their residence at Mount Pleasant, from which 
the battle could be easily heard at the time, and in 
which were assembled his mother and her little family 
— all but Philip. 

* Gen. John Morin Scott took part in this battle, also Gen. David 
Forman. 



[ ^03 ] 



Chapter Seventh 

NEWS travelled slowly in the days of our an- 
cestors, and for several reasons that of the 
Declaration of Independence was delayed 
in reaching Philip. First, the distance was great, the 
nearest point of land being Cape Hatteras, some six 
hundred and fifty miles distant ; but on account of the 
war between Great Britain, to whom the Bermudas 
belonged, and the colonies, no American ship landed 
in her ports, and the trading vessels were few and far 
between. When at last the word, so delightful to 
Philip's ears, reached him, that the colonies had really 
declared themselves free, he quickly roused himself 
from the poetic languor that had taken possession of 
him, and embraced the first opportunity that presented 
of returning to his native land. The voyage was 
roundabout, and consumed considerable time ; conse- 
quently he did not reach home until after the battle 
that had been fought so close to his doors. 

The fate of the " amiable Amanda " we have never 
learned. Whether, like Sappho, she took a fatal leap 
from the heights of one of the Bermuda peaks, or, 
like a sensible woman of the eighteenth century, bade 
her poet good-bye, with a promise to remember him 
in her orisons, is unknown ; and, as Philip's sonnets 
ceased to flow, her fate is buried in oblivion. 

Upon arriving in his native land Philip probably 
paid his respects to his mother. It is most likely, and 
then he buckled on his sword in his country's cause. 
This phrase is certainly figurative, for Philip could 
never buckle himself into anything that looked like 
a harness ; but he did what lay in his power, he 

I 104 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

took out letters of marque and reprisal from the 
Continental Congress, and sailed far out on the deep 
blue sea to catch all the British ships he could find. 
We learn from the public print that he played sad 
havoc with the English merchantmen, capturing and 
destroying many. 

But after a time poor Philip came to grief, and the 
way it happened runneth thus. 

Whether he had purchased the ship he commanded 
or only used it for the time being we know not, but 
we do know that he had one building in the Philadel- 
phia yards, which was his own, his very own — the 
dream of his life. Philadelphia was famous in those 
days for her shipbuilding capabilities ; her harbor 
favoring it, she could easily bring from the Southern 
and New England States the best of woods for the 
purpose ; and we are told that at one time might be 
seen some twenty ships in her stocks in progress of 
construction. Those she turned out were swift sailers, 
highly finished, and even considerably ornamented; 
so much so, indeed, that her figure-heads were praised 
by foreign artists. In fact the colonies had developed 
such talent in naval architecture that many of the Eng- 
lish trading vessels were built in their yards. ^ 

Although Philip's description of the building of his 
ship may not equal that of Schiller's, it may bear 
criticism : — 

" Assist me, Clio ! while in verse I tell 
The dire misfortunes that a ship befell, 
Which outward bound, to St. Eustatia's shore, 
Death and disaster through the billows bore. 
From Philadelphia's happy port she came ; 
(And there the builder plann'd her lofty frame,) 
With wonderous skill, and excellence of art 
He form'd, dispos'd and order'd every part, 
With joy, beheld the stately fabric rise 

1 Mr. Eggleston, in The Century Magazine. 



Philip Frcncciu 



To a stout bulwark, of stupendous size, 
'Till launch'd at last, capacious o^ the freight, 
He left her to the pilots, and her fate. 
First, from her depths the tapering masts ascend. 
On whose tall bulk, the transverse vards depend, 
Bv shrouds and stays secur'd from side to side 
Trees grew on trees, suspended o'er the tide : 
Firm to the vards extended, broad and vast, 
Thev hung the sails, susceptive oi the blast. 
Far o'er the prow the lengthy bowsprit lav. 
Supporting on the extreme the taut fore-stav. 
Twice ten six pounder, at their port holes plac'd. 
And rang'd in rows, stood hostile in the waist : 
Thus all prepar'd, impatient for the seas. 
She left her station with an adverse breeze. 
This her tirst outset from her native shore. 
To seas a stranger, and untrv 'd before." 

The ship finished, Philip named her " The Au- 
rora," and on her broad prow she carried for a figure- 
head the risino; sun, so brio;htlv crilded as, quotino; his 
words, to " throw over the water a mimic blaze." 
Poor sun, destined to set before it ran its course ! 

Delaware Bav, although admittinsj the largest vessels 
to its head, and even into the river beyond, had a very 
tortuous and intricate channel, occasioned by the nu- 
merous shoals formed bv long, narrow sandbanks 
stretchincj northwest and southeast, which nearly tilled 
the central portion. It was therefore something of a feat 
to e;uide a o;ood-sized vessel throuo;h it and round the 
cape, — the shelving ground around the latter causing 
it to be hital to those unacquainted with its peculiarities. 
It was renowned for shipwrecks ; so much so that 
captains felt greatlv relieved when they had safely lett 
it behind them. 

On the 2>th of May the " Aurora," " daughter ot 
the sun," with all sails spread to catch the breeze, which 
at startins: was adverse, passed crailv down the river, and 

[iob\ 



The Foet of the Revolution 

through the sixty miles of Delaware Bay, and waited for 
morning to round the point called by the old Swede 
settlers the " Point of Paradise," by the more prosaic 
modern Americans, Cape Henlopen. During her prog- 
ress down the bay an event occurred which was con- 
sidered by the crew a prognostic of future success, but 
which was, in reality, the cause of the "Aurora's" dis- 
aster. Overtaking a small sloop belonging to the 
enemy and laden with corn, the details incident to its 
capture prevented the " Aurora " from rounding the 
point the same evening, and thus caused the delay so 
hital to her. 

The morning was beautiful ; and, assisted by a 
favorable breeze, the cape was successfully passed, and 
the " Aurora " made her debut on the broad ocean, 
where " a sea unruffled and a sky serene " awaited her- 
All seemed propitious ; and spreading the sails, her 
prow was turned eastward, then to the southeast. 

The sun crossed the meridian, and a gale springing 
up it bore the light-hearted master and crew out of the 
sight of the misty line of hilltops, which seemed to sink 
beneath the waves. Toward afternoon, a seaman was 
ordered to go aloft, to see peradventure if any prey, in 
the form of an Knglish merchantman, might be in 
sight. 

The tar returned and reported a ship approaching 
very rapidly from the east; which soon became visible 
to all. The master used his glass, and from her top- 
gallant spied the English Jack ; and soon after he rec- 
ognized her to be the " Iris," once the " Hancock," one 
of the swiftest ships on the American station, and one 
that had made the fortunes of every one that had ever 
commanded her save the last; ' he had lost her in con- 
sequence of having put her out of trim, by starting her 
water while chased by the " Rainbow," commanded by 
Sir George Collier, who finally captured her. 

* Captain Manly. 
[107] 



Philip Freneau 



" Her lofty masts stood bending to the gale, 
Close to the wind was brac'd each shivering sail j 
Her spangled bottom seem'd in flames to glow. 

With all her might she strove to gain our tack, 

Nor strove in vain — with pride and power elate, 

Wing'd on by winds, she drove us to our fate. 

No stop, no stay her bloody crew intends. 

So flies a comet with its host of fiends, 

Nor oaths, nor prayers arrest her swift career, 

Death in her front, and ruin in her rear." 

Knowing the futility of attempting to hold their own 
against such odds, — the vessel carrying guns double 
the size of theirs, — the officer gave orders to change 
the course of the " Aurora " and steer for the land, their 
only safety lying in flight. 

" Struck at the sight, the master gave command 
To change our course, and steer toward the land — 
Straight to the task the ready sailors run. 
And while the word was utter'd, half was done; 
As, from the south, the fiercer breezes rise 
Swift from her foe alarm'd Aurora flies. 
With every sail extended to the wind 
She fled the unequal foe that chas'd behind. 
Along her decks, dispos'd in close array. 
Each at its port, the grim artillery lay, 
Soon on the foe with brazen throat to roar; 
But, small their size, and narrow was their bore ; 
Yet, faithful, they their destin'd station keep 
To guard the barque that wafts them o'er the deep, 
Who now must bend to steer a homeward course 
And trust her swiftness rather than her force. 
Unfit to combat with a powerful foe, — 
Her decks too open and her waist too low." 

Land appears, most welcome sight ! The Point of 
Paradise looms up before them ; but near and nearer 
presses on the foe, intent upon the "Aurora's" 

iio8\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

ruin. Listen to the boatswain's prayer — it, like 
most such prayers, fell back upon the head of its 
maker : — 



" List, all ye powers that rule the skies and seas ! 
Shower down perdition on such thieves as these, 
Winds, daunt their hearts with terror and dismay, 
And sprinkle on their powder salt sea spray! 
May bursting cannon, while his aim he tries, 
Distract the gunner, and confound his eyes — 
May they who rule the round-top's giddy height 
Be canted headlong to perpetual night j 
May fiends torment them on a leeward coast. 
And help forsake them when they want it most." 

Freneau, in his poem entitled "The Prison Ship," 
from which we have been quoting, beautifully com- 
pares the flight of the " Aurora," and the pursuit of the 
" Iris," to the flight of Hector pursued by Achilles 
round the walls of Troy : — 

"The Frigate, now, had every sail unfurl'd. 
And rush'd tremendous o'er the watery world ; 
Thus fierce Pelides, eager to destroy, 
Chas'd the proud Trojan to the gates of Troy — 
Swift o'er the wave while, hostile, they pursue. 
As swiftly from their fangs Aurora flew." 

The Point of Paradise gained, all efforts to take the 
ill-fated vessel ashore were vain ; a sudden calm caused 
the sails to droop. Meanwhile the foe had advanced 
within range of shot, and pointed her guns. 

" Rang'd her black cannon, pointed on our lee. 
Then up she luff'd, and blaz'd her entrails dire, 
Bearing destruction, terror, death and fire. 
Vext at our fate, we prim'd a piece, and then 
Return'd the shot, to show them we were men." 

[709] 



Philip Freneau 



Night fell ; even the shoals in this sad extremity 
would have been a welcome risk, but — 

" Fate stood between, and barr'd us from the land." 

Already becalmed and helpless, the ebbing current 
bore the doomed " Aurora " into the power of her 
enemy, who — 

" Flash'd her red lightnings o'er the trembling flood." 

At every flash untold mischief ensued, and — 

" Mad for revenge, out breasts with furv glow 
To wreak returns of vengeance on the foe ; 
Full at his hull our pointed guns we rais'd, 
His hull resounded as the cannon blaz'd ; 
Through his broad sails while some a passage tore, 
His sides re-echo'd to the dreadful roar. 
Alternate iires dispell'd the shades of night — 
But how unequal was this daring fight! " 

While shouting defiance to the foe, Laboyteaux, the 
captain of the marines, fell staining the deck with his 
heart's blood. Another blast tore the shrouds, stays, 
and braces away ; while through the air flew the frag- 
ments of sails, blocks, and oars, and the " Aurora " shook 
from stem to stern. The elements seemed to vie with 
each other in working the doom of the ill-fated vessel ; 
earth receded from her grasp ; and the wind, rising, 
filled the sails of the " Iris " and blew it close and closer 
upon her prev ; the fire tore open her sides, into whose 
wounds the water gurgled to complete the work of 
destruction ; and slowly the doomed vessel began to 
sink, and there was naught left but to submit or die. 

"'Twas then the Master trembled for his crew, 
And bade thv shores, O Delaware, adieu ! — 
And must we vield to yon' destructive ball. 
And must our colors to these ruffians fall ! — 

[//o] 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

They fall ! — his thunders forc'd our strength to bend, 
The lofty topsails with their yards descend, 
And the proud foe, such leagues of ocean pass'd. 
His wish completed in our woe at last." 

According to Freneau's log-book it would seem 
that on this voyage he was merely a passenger, and 
bore no active part in the ship's management. As 
this account has been given to the public by Mr. 
Weymer Jay Mills ^ great-grandnephew of Agnes Fre- 
neau's husband, we give the account of the capture as 
found in Freneau's poem, " The Prison Ship." In 
the log-book Freneau states that when first pursued by 
the " Iris" his advice to the officers had been to stand 
for Egg Harbor or any part of the Jersey shore, and 
to run the ship upon the flats rather than allow it to 
be taken. Why his advice was not followed, or why he 
was only a passenger on his own ship, it does not appear. 

Let the reader imagine for himself the sentiments 
with which the freedom-loving Freneau passed from 
the deck of the " Aurora" to that of the victor, and 
those with which he watched the waters closing over 
the wreckage of his ship, — for that which was left of 
her was but the ghost of her former self, — until the 
darkness covered all things with its pall. 

Owners of fair ships have expressed their love for 
them as greater far than for anything on land ; and the 
" Aurora " was his very own, the creation of his love, 
which he had dreamed of day by day as she grew into 
her fair proportions ; whose birth he had sung, and to 
whom finally he had confided his life and fortunes. 
Too late he regretted, for his own part, that he had not 
chosen death when it could honorably have been 
courted. 

In passing through the lower bay in his transfer to 
New York, Freneau gazed across the waters and de- 

^ Revolutionary Americana, published by Wessels ^ Co. 



Philip Freneau 



scried in the distance the crest of the old hill from 
whose heights, as a child, he had so oftentimes 
watched the white-sailed vessels flitting to and fro, 
and longed so ardently to be in one of them ; and was 
it thus his desires had been fulfilled ? In one he was in- 
deed ; but the shackles of the captive were weighing on 
his hands and feet, and these he had not longed for. 

Arrived at the port of New York, then in the hands 
of the British, he was condemned to breathe the foul, 
infected air of the sickly hulks which were moored 
within sight of the very residence in which, in former 
years, his ancestor had resided, and in which his 
father had been born. Imagine all this and then 
blame him if you can for that spirit of acrimony that 
many perhaps have wondered at, thinking it far ex- 
ceeded its cause. 

An exile from the land of his fathers through the 
merciless tyranny of one monarch, and in fetters by 
that of another, is it to be wondered at that in after 
years he fought so strenuously against all tendency to 
a monarchical form of government, or the least thing 
that savored of it? 

The "Scorpion," the hulk in which he was confined, 
was one of the old transport vessels in which the 
British troops had been brought to the city. It 
was moored at first off the Battery, along with the 
"Jersey," a sixty-four-gun ship formerly employed as 
a store ship, the " Hunter," and others, and after- 
wards taken to Wallabout Bay, on the Long Island 
shore. These vessels were all unseaworthy and had 
been dismantled. 

" No masts or sails these crowded ships adorn, 
Dismal to view, neglected and forlorn. 

From morn to eve along the decks we lay 
Scorch'd into fevers by the solar ray j 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

No friendly awning cast a welcome shade, 
Once it was promis'd, and was never made; 
No favours could these sons of death bestow, 
'T was endless vengeance, and unceasing woe." 

As Freneau has described the treatment of the 
captives on the prison ships in the poem mentioned 
above, we will quote a few portions of it relative to 
his sufferings while on board the "Scorpion," and the 
"Hunter," the hospital ship, to which he was after- 
wards taken. It is an admitted fact that the sailors 
captured by the British during the war suffered 
even more than the soldiers who fell into their 
hands, if such a thing were possible. They were 
crowded together so closely, and their accommodations 
were so wretched, that diseases broke out and swept 
them off in such numbers as to arouse compassion 
in hearts the least sensible to woe.^ 

It has been asserted that, as near as could be esti- 
mated, in the last six years of the war more than 
eleven thousand captives died on board the " Jersey " 
alone. Besides the three ships already mentioned, 
there were the " Provost," the " Strombolo," and the 
" Good Hope." The prisoners on the latter set fire to 
it, hoping to gain their freedom in that way, preferring 
to meet a speedy death in the dark waters rather 
than a lingering one in its hold ; but the chief incen- 
diaries were removed to the " Provost," and the others 
to the "Jersey." The latter, being freed from her living 
freight at the close of the war, was shunned as a nest 
of pestilence. The worms destroyed her already half- 

1 " Thus wrote JohnMorin Scott, an illustrious statesman and soldier 
of those days : — 

' Let the dark Scorpion's hull narrate 

The dismal tale of English hate ; 

Her horrid tales let Jersey tell, 

And mock the shades where demons dwell, 

Their shriek of pain and dying groan 

Unheeded fell on hearts of stone. ' " 



Philip Frcncau 



decayed bottom, and she sank, bearing inscribed on 
her planks the names ot" thousands of American pris- 
oners. For more than twenty years the ebbing tide 
exposed her bare ribs, but this e\'idence of British bar- 
barity was at length buried beneath the United Snites 
nayy y;ird.^ The precise number of deaths that oc- 
curred from ill treatment and staryarion on these 
hulks will neyer be known till the day of doom. 
Many of these yictims neyer had the rites of sepultiire ; 
and others ^ye^e so imperfectly coyered that for some 
time after the war their bones were found uncovered 
on the shores ot Long Island. 

To return to Freneau's description : — 

^^ Thou, Scorpion, fatal to thy crowded throng. 
Dire theme of horror and Plutonian song, 
Recjuir'st mv lav — thv sultrv decks 1 know. 
And all the tonnents that exist below ! 
The brinv wave that Hudson's bosom tills 
Drain'd through her bottom in a thousand rills : 
Rotten and old, replete with sighs and groans. 
Scarce on the waters she susrain'd her bones ; 
Here, doom'd to toil, or founder in the tide, 
•-*^ At the moist pumps incessantly \>-e ply'd. 

Here, doom'd to starve, like famish'd dogs, we core 
The scant allowance that our tyrants bore. 

When to the ocean sinks the western sun. 
And the scorchM Tories lire their evening gun, 
♦^ Down, rebels, down ' ' the angr)- Scotchmen cry, 
*^ Base dogs, descend, or bv our broad swords die ! ' 
Hail, dark abode ! what can with thee compare : — 
Heat, sickness, famine, death, and stagnant air — 
Swift from the guarded decks we rxish'd along. 
And vainlv sought repose, so vast our throng ; 
Four hundred wretches here, denied all light. 
In crowded mansions pass the infernal night, 

1 Histonr of New York, bv Miss Booth- 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

Some for a bed their tatter'd vestments join, 
And some on chests, and some on floors recline i \ 
Shut from the blessings of the evening air * 

Pensive we lav with mingled corpses there, 
Meagre and wan, and scorch'd with heat below, 
We look'd like ghosts, ere deatii had made us so — 
How could we else, where heat and hunger joined. 
Thus to debase the bodv and the mind, — 
No waters laded from the bubbling spring 
To these dire ships these little tvrants bring — 
By planks and ponderous beams completely wall'd 
In vain for water and in vain we call'd — 
No drop was granted to the midnight prayer. 
To reht-h in these regions of despair ! — 
The loathsome cask a deadlv dose contains. 
Its poison circling through the languid veins. 

Sweet morn dispcll'd the horrors of the shade; 
On every side dire objects met the sight. 
And pallid forms, and murders of the night, — 
The dead were past their pain, the living groan, 
Nor dare to hope another morn their own ; 
But what to them is niorn's delightful ray ? 
Sad and distrestful as the close of day ; 
O'er distant streams appears the dewy green, 
And leafv trees on mountain tops are seen. 
But thev no groves nor grassv mountains tread 
Mark'd for a longer journey to the dead." 

The freedom-loving and freedom-craving spirit of 
Frencau, like the caged eagle, vainlv beat its wings 
against the bars of its cage ; and what wonder that it 
finally succumbed to the horrors of his situation, 
and that he was borne in a half-dving condition from 
that intected hulk to the even more loathsome one 
of the hospital ship, the "Hunter" ? 

" Joyful we left the Scorpion's dire abode ; 
Some tears we shed for the remaining crew. 
Then curs'd the hulk, and from her sides withdrew." 



^ 



Philip Frcricciu 

The Hospital Prison Ship. 

" Now tow'rds the Hunter's gloomy decks we came, 
A slaughter-house, vet hospital in name ; 
We were so p.ile ! — that we were thought bv some 
A freight of ghosts, from death's dominions come — 
Down to the gloom we took our pensive wav, 
Along the decks the dving captives lav ; 
Some struck with madness, some with scurvv pain'd, 
But still of putrid fevers most complain'd ! 
On the hard floors these wasted objects laid. 
There toss'd and tumbled in the dismal shade. 
There no soft voice their bitter fate bemoan'd. 
And death trode statelv, while the victims groan'd ; 
Of leakv decks I heard them long complain, 
Drown'd as thev were in deluges of rain, 
Denv'd the comforts of a dving bed. 
And not a pillow to support the head — 
How could thev else but pine, and grieve, and sigh, 
Detest a wretched life — and wish to die : 
Scarce had I mingled with this dismal band 
When a thin victim seiz'd me bv the hand — 
*- And an thou come,' (^death heavv on his eves) 
^ And art thou come to these abodes : ' he cries. 
•• Whv didst thou leave the Scorpion's dark retreat. 
And hither haste, a surer death to meet : 
Whv didst thou leave thv damp infected cell : — 
If tbut was purgator\-, this is hell.' 

From Brooklvn heights a Hessian doctor came. 
Not great his skill, nor greater much his fame ; 
Fair Science never call'd the wretch her son. 
And Art disdain'd the stupid man to own ; — 
Can you admire that Science was so coy. 
Or Art refus'd his genius to employ : — 
l^o men with brutes an equ.vl dullness share. 
Or cuts von grovelling mole the midwav air r 
In polar worlds can Eden's blossoms blow : 
Do trees of God in b;u:ren deserts grow : 
Are loaded vines to Etna's summit known. 
Or swells the peach beneath the frozen zone ? 

[7/6] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

He on his charge the healing work begun 

With antimonial mixtures by the tun, 

Ten minutes was the time he deign'd to stay, 

The time of grace allotted once a day. — 

He drench'd us well with bitter draughts, 't is true. 

Nostrums from hell, and cortex from Peru — 

Some with his pills he sent to Pluto's reign. 

And some he blister'd with his flies of Spain ; 

And Tartar doses walk'd their deadly round. 

Here, uncontroul'd, he exercis'd his trade. 
And grew experienc'd by the deaths he made, 
By frequent blows we from his cane endur'd 
He kill'd at least as many as he cur'd, 
On our lost comrades built his future fame. 
And scatter'd fate where'er his footsteps came. 
Knave though he was, yet candour must confess 
Not chief Physician was this man of Hesse — 
One master o'er the murdering tribe was plac'd. 
By him the rest were honour'd or disgrac'd ; 
Once, and but once, by some strange fortune led 
He came to see the dying and the dead — 
He came — but anger so deform'd his eye. 
And such a faulchion glitter'd on his thigh, 
And such a gloom his visage darken'd o'er, 
And two such pistols in his hands he bore ! 
That by the gods ! — with such a load of steel. 
He came, we thought, to murder, not to heal — 
All were astonish'd at the oaths he swore ; 
He swore till every prisoner stood aghast, 
And thought him Satan in a brimstone blast ; 
He wish'd us banish'd from the public light. 
And wish'd us shrouded in perpetual night ! 
That were he king, no mercy would he show. 
But drive all rebels to the world below. 

Each day, at least six carcasses we bore 
And scratch'd them graves along the sandy shore. 
By feeble hands the shallow graves were made, 
No stone, memorial, o'er the corpses laid ; 



Philip Freneau 



In barren sands, and far from home, they lie. 
No friend to shed a tear, when passing by ; 
O'er the mean tombs the insulting Britons tread. 
Spurn at the sand, and curse the rebel dead. 
When to your arms these fatal islands fall, 
(For first, or last, they must be conquer'd all) 
Americans ! to rites sepulchral just, 
With gentlest footstep press this kindred dust. 
And o'er the tombs, if tombs can then be found. 
Place the green turf, and plant the myrtle round. 
These all in Freedom's sacred cause allied 
For Freedom ventur'd and for Freedom died." 

Sixty long days and nights Freneau passed between 
the deck and the hold of the " Scorpion ; " how many 
more he remained in the "Hunter," we do not know 
exactly ; but the capture occurred in May, and he 
was released in July of the same year, 1780. 

It had been agreed between the British government 
and the United Colonies that all privateers sailing 
with letters of marque should be subject to the same 
rules of exchange as officers in the army. Boudinot 
had been appointed commissioner for the exchange of 
prisoners, and his father and Andre Freneau having 
been old friends as well as compatriots, he, as may be 
supposed, lost no time in setting Philip at liberty. 
Pintard, Boudinot's secretary, was a warm friend of 
Freneau's, and frequently spoke of the sufferings of 
his friend and his fellow-captives. A very romantic 
story in regard to the supposed escape of Freneau 
from the prison ship has been published, but we have 
the reality of his exchange in his own words : — 

"On the I2,th of July, the flag came alongside 
and cleared the hospital ship. But the miseries we 
endured in getting to Elizabeth Town were many ; 
those that were very bad, of which the proportion was 
great, naturally took possession of the hold. No 
prisoner was allowed to go in the cabin, so that I, with 

iri8\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

twenty or thirty others, was obliged to sleep out all 
the night, which was uncommonly cold for the season. 
About ten next morning we arrived at Elizabeth Town 
Point, where we were kept in the burning sun several 
hours till the Commissary came to discharge us. I was 
afflicted with such pains in my joints I could scarcely 
walk, and besides was weakened with a raging fever ; 
nevertheless, I walked the two miles to Elizabeth 
Town ; here I got a passage on a wagon to within a 
mile of Crow's Ferry, which I walked ; got a passage 
over the ferry, and walked on as far as Molly Bud- 
leigh's, where I stayed all night ; next morning, 
having breakfasted on some bread and milk, I set 
homeward ; when I came to Obadiah Budleigh's cor- 
ner, I turned to the right and came home through 
the woods, for fear of terrifying the neighbors with 
my ghastly looks had I gone thro Mount Pleasant. 
July 14, 1780. I forgot to mention that as soon as 
we came to New York, and things were a little ad- 
justed, Mr. Chatham, our first mate, went on board 
the" Aurora " and found his desk with mine and several 
books open and everything taken out ; so much for 
English honor and honesty.^ N. B. Wrote a letter 
by Hulings to Mr. G., but received no answer. Two 
days before I was exchanged got a letter from Mr. 
G. offering me anything I wanted, pretending he did 
not know what ship I was in. 1 returned him a letter 
of thanks, letting him know that if he could get me a 
parole it would be the greatest favor he could do me. 
The same day Mr. Robins came alongside in a small 
boat with fish, offering me what money I wanted. I 
begged him to lay the money out in wine, oranges, 
and lemons, and send them to me. He promised to 
be alongside in three hours, but I never saw him after- 

1 In leaving the " Aurora" Freneau had been assured by the commander 
of the " Iris " that his personal effects would be carefully cared for and 
would be turned over to him later on. 



Philip Freneau 



ward ; in short I met with nothing but disappointment 
among this people, and cannot sufficiently congratulate 
myself upon having got from among them." 

Among some papers belonging to Freneau's daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Agnes Leadbeater, was a clipping from a 
newspaper yellow with age ; it bore no date and read 
as follows : " At Big Flats, Steuben Co., N. Y., the 
4th inst., Hon. Wm. Steele, aet. ninety-five years. 
Mr. Steele was born in the city of New York, and 
took an active part in the revolutionary struggle. In 
the spring of 1780 he sailed from Philadelphia on board 
the 'Aurora,' a twenty-gun ship, which was shortly 
after captured by the British frigate 'Iris' bear- 
ing despatches of the surrender of Charleston to the 
British. In the running fight which ensued he was 
severely wounded, taken prisoner, and detained be- 
tween four or five months when he was exchanged in 
the exchange of prisoners." 

It was a singular coincidence that the " Iris " that 
captured Freneau should be the bearer of despatches 
containing news of the defeat of an afterwards intimate 
friend, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Caro- 
lina, who commanded Fort Moultrie, but was obliged 
to abandon the fort to help with the defence of the city 
of Charleston ; but not, however, until he had inflicted 
great injury upon the British, whose force was greatly 
superior to his. 



\I20\ 



Chapter Eighth 



THE exchange of prisoners occurring in the sum- 
mer of 1780, Philip returned to his mother's 
house to recuperate ; his health having been 
quite shattered by the rigors of his captivity. It is 
unnecessary to add that he carried with him a burning 
resentment for the ignominious and cruel treatment he 
had undergone. It was during these months of rest 
and a mother's care that he wrote the poem from which 
we have so largely drawn in the preceding chapter. 
Originally, the poem contained four cantos, and was 
thus printed by Francis Bailey in Philadelphia in the 
year 178 1, entitled "Cantos from a Prison Ship." 
Later on, the author recast it, as was his wont with 
his productions, and it appeared in the Monmouth 
edition in three cantos, and was entitled, " The British 
Prison Ship ; " it runs to about six hundred and 
fifty lines. Mr. Edward Delancey, having quoted a 
few Hnes of this poem in his " Proceedings of the 
Huguenot Society of America," ^ says : " The poem 
was intended to rouse up American feeling, then — in 
1780 — excessively depressed; and it serves to show 
Freneau's power to arrest public attention, as well as 
the variety, beauty, and force of different characteristics 
of his verse;" and he continues : " Of course, the poem 
is exaggerated in its statements, but in this the skill of 
the true poet shows itself, for in all appeals of this kind 
exaggeration is a necessity if an effect is to be produced 
— just as the sculptor is obliged to make the figure 
of his hero larger than life, if his statue is to be im- 
pressive." In the accounts given by persons who were 

1 Vol. ii. No. 2. 

[121] 



Philip Freneau 



not poets, and therefore without any poetical license 
to exaggerate, the description falls very little, if at all, 
short of Freneau's. Nearly half of the British force 
in the vicinity of New York was Hessian, and we 
learn from history that in such contempt were the 
Hessians held on account of their brutal force and 
hireling character, that Frederick the Great, disgusted 
at the thought of any sovereign employing such a 
force to reduce his colonies, charged so much a head 
for permitting them to cross his territory ; saying, 
satirically, that was the rate he charged for driv- 
ing live stock across his kingdom. The boot now 
exhibited at Washington's Headquarters in Newburg 
on the Hudson as belonging to one of these troops, 
speaks volumes as to the owner of such a machine. 

The year of Freneau's capture and imprisonment, 
as well as the succeeding one, was dreary enough for 
the patriots. In the north, military operations were 
mostly suspended ; and in the south the army had 
met with many reverses. As we have seen in the last 
chapter, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney had been com- 
pelled to yield Fort Moultrie to greatly superior 
forces, and to reinforce General Lincoln, who was try- 
ing to hold Charleston with fourteen hundred men 
against Sir Henry Clinton with five thousand. South 
Carolina was at last obliged to surrender, and the 
garrison, including Pinckney, were made prisoners of 
war. The latter was not released until peace was de- 
clared. Meanwhile, the nation's credit was at its 
lowest ebb ; the continental bills fell in value to two 
cents on the dollar, and business was paralyzed. Had 
not Robert Morris and a few wealthy patriots come 
forward and laid their private fortunes on their country's 
shrine, its sun would have sunk then and there. The 
condition of the army was desperate ; no food, no pay, 
no clothing. The American women came forward and 
did their best to provide the latter, still the army 

\l22-\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

suffered. To add to all this misery, Benedict Arnold 
had turned traitor. Dismissed from Virginia, where 
he had held supreme command after General Phillips' 
death, he returned to New York ; and, receiving from 
Clinton a second detachment, he entered the sound, 
knding at New London, and captured the town. 
Colonel William Ledyard,^ who was doubly related to 
Philip's wife, held command of forts Griswold and 
Trumbull which protected the city, but finding his 
force inadequate to hold them both, he withdrew all 
his force, amounting to one hundred and fifty militia, 
to the former, and held it for about an hour against 
eight hundred British troops. The works were carried 
after severe fighting, but not until the two superior 
officers and two hundred men had been killed or dis- 
abled on the British side. Upon its surrender. Major 
Bromfield, upon whom the command now devolved, 
asked who commanded the garrison. Ledyard replied, 
" I did command it, but you do now," and handed him 
his sword. Bromfield, taking it, ran it through the 
body of Colonel Ledyard up to the hilt, and a general 
massacre ensued. About one hundred men were killed 
and wounded. A monument has been erected near 
the spot to commemorate the massacre. 

Miss Fannie Ledyard, a niece of Colonel Ledyard, 
was on a visit to Groton, Conn., while Arnold was 
carrying on his butcheries there, and she devoted her 
whole time to caring for the wounded and dying. 
She became quite a heroine during the war, and her 
name is honorably mentioned amongst the devoted 
and self-sacrificing women of the Revolution. She 
afterwards married R. L. Peters of Southold, and her 
remains rest in the old cemetery near the historic 
home of her ancestors. This family, being so nearly 
related to Philip, and its history a romantic one, it will 
not do to pass over. 

^ Colonel Ledyard was at the time thirty-one years of age. 



Philip Freneau 



At the eastern extremity of Long Island is a quaint 
old town called Southold ; and one of the oldest and 
most interesting landmarks of the place is the Case 
House, which was erected in the year 1647, ^^ which 
time the only communication with it was by water. 
A writer, in speaking of the house, has said : " Around 
this old building cluster many romantic legends and 
quaint stories, interwoven with the names of men and 
women who have figured in the early history of Suf- 
folk County." 

In those early times this house was considered quite 
an aristocratic affair. It stands about a mile south of 
Horton's Point, where the settlers of Suffolk landed 
in 1 640. In 1673 the Dutch commissioners, sup- 
posing themselves, like Crusoe, monarchs of all they 
surveyed, paid a visit to this town for the purpose of 
making Thomas Moore high-sheriff; but, unlike 
Crusoe, they found they were not so, for the settlers, 
indignant at the idea of being made Dutch whether 
they would or not, protested against this aggressive 
measure and desired the authority of the commission- 
ers to act in their regard ; and they immediately voted 
to connect themselves with the commonwealth of 
Connecticut. 

John Ledyard, a son of this old house, married 
the daughter of Judge Young, and afterwards re- 
moved to the township of New London, Conn. ; 
the place near Groton is named Ledyard after him. 
His eldest son, also named John, returned to Southold 
and married the famous beauty of the time, Abigail, 
the daughter of Robert Hempstead.^ Mr. Ledyard 
engaged in the West Indian trade, but died at the early 
age of thirty-five years ; Mrs. Ledyard retained much 
of her former beauty, and afterward married Dr. Micah 
Moore, the beloved physician of that section. 

Her eldest son, John, afterwards known as Ledyard 

^ The city of Hempstead is named after this family. 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

the Traveller, upon the second marriage of his mother, 
went to reside with his paternal grandfather in Con- 
necticut. After making his studies he attempted law, 
but his mother, desirous of having him become a mis- 
sionary to the Indians, had him placed at Dartmouth 
College with that intention. During his stay there 
he absented himself for several months, and upon his 
return he excused his absence as arising from a desire 
to visit the Six Nations and study Indian life. Whether 
it was the experience he had with them or a disinclina- 
tion for the ministry that caused him to abandon the 
project, is not known ; but he soon after presented 
himself at his mother's house, having sailed down the 
Connecticut River and across the sound, master of his 
own vessel ; this original affair being a dug-out, or 
canoe made from the trunks of a tree hollowed out in 
Indian fashion. Soon after, his adventurous spirit 
caused him to run away from home and embark on a 
ship bound for the Mediterranean.^ Arriving in Lon- 
don as Captain Cook was preparing for his third voyage 
around the world, Ledyard was introduced to him 
and produced such a favorable impression upon the 
bold navigator that he readily accepted him as an 
assistant. Ledyard was with Captain Cook when 
he was killed by the cannibals. Although Ledyard 
remained in the British service, he refused to bear 
arms against his native country. In 1782 the man- 
of-war to which he belonged arrived off Huntington, 
and, obtaining leave of absence, he paid a visit to his 
mother. Finding some British officers in her parlor, 
he did not make himself known ; and he had changed 
so much during his eight years of absence that he was 
not recognized. During the visit some familiar ex- 

^ According to the Records of the Genealogical Society, Ledyard had 
"just cause" for leaving his relatives. A commentator remarks that the 
fact that people sometimes retain the property belonging to others is not 
calculated to keep those who are wronged around the ancestral home. 



hilip Freneau 



pression attracted the lady's attention ; and, after 
scrutinizing him for a mom&nt, she pressed him to 
her heart, forgetting the presence of strangers, so great 
was her joy ; their astonishment was considerable until 
the matter was explained. In 1785 Ledyard visited 
Paris, and was received most kindly by Mr. Jefferson, 
United States minister at the time, and also by Lafay- 
ette. Desirous of fitting out an exploring expedition, 
he found Captain Paul Jones a ready co-operator in 
his plan ; but circumstances prevented their carrying 
it into effect. During one of his journeys he attempted 
to cross the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice, but upon 
reaching the middle he found open water, and was 
obliged to alter his course and walk around the whole 
coast of the gulf, although it was the dead of winter. 
By the time he reached St. Petersburg he had jour- 
neyed upwards of fourteen hundred miles in seven 
weeks. At Irkootsk he was arrested as a spy, and 
thought he got off very easily when the empress or- 
dered two guards to accompany him to the frontiers 
of Poland, and there dismiss him with the threat of 
being hanged if he ever entered Russia again. It is most 
probable that he did not. After travelling over the most 
of the then known part of the world, he died at Cairo, 
as he was preparing to cross the African continent 
westerly from Sennaar. It is said of him that he 
was adventurous beyond the conception of ordinary 
men, yet wary and considerate ; and he appeared to 
be formed by nature for achievements of hardihood 
and peril ; for capacity of endurance, resolution, and 
physical vigor, he was one of the most remarkable of 
modern travellers ; and had he possessed means equal 
to his zeal, his name would doubtless have been asso- 
ciated with important discoveries, as it now is with 
wonderful and romantic, but unprofitable adventures. 
Writing to Mr. Jefferson, he utters a beautiful and re- 
fined compliment. Expressing his appreciation of the 

\I26\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

former's kindness while in Paris, he writes : " I shall 
never think my letter an indifferent one when it con- 
tains the declaration of my gratitude and my affection 
for you; and this, notwithstanding you thought 
hard of me for being employed by an English associa- 
tion, which hurt me while I was in Paris. You know 
your own heart; and if my suspicions are groundless, 
forgive them, since they proceed from the jealousy I 
have, not to lose the regard you have in times past 
been pleased to honor me with. You are not obliged 
to esteem me, but I am obliged to esteem you, or take 
leave of my senses and confront the opinions of the 
greatest and best characters I know. If I cannot 
therefore address myself to you as a man you regard, 
I must do it as one that regards you, for your own 
sake and for the sake of my country, which has set 
me the example." ^ 

His relative, Freneau's wife, used to tell an amus- 
ing story of an unexpected visit from him upon his 
return from one of his perilous adventures. She was 
seated by a window in Middleton Point engaged in 
reading, when she heard the hasty galloping of a horse, 
and suddenly felt herself embraced most warmly, and 
then heard the retreating gallop of the same down the 
street ; and all in shorter time than it takes to tell it. 
Her feeling of indignation cooled down later on, upon 
learning that the author of the affair was her wild, fun- 
loving relative ; for no one could be angry with Jack 
Ledyard. 

After the battle of Long Island, m which, as we 

. ^ A biographer of Ledyard has written, " Ledyard gave Jefferson a 
great deal of vahiable information, which, for political reasons, Jefferson did 
not publish, but which was of great benefit to him in the conduct of for- 
eign affairs when he became president." He likewise says that the success 
of the administration in pushing forward the contest which made the Pa- 
cific the western boundary, in opposition to the Hudson Bay Co. , and also 
in opposition to a great many American Congressmen, was partly due to 
information given by Ledvard in the early days. 

[ ^27 ] 



Philip Freneau 



have seen, the patriots were defeated, the British 
occupied the eastern extremity of the island, making 
their headquarters at the Vail ^ house, which was not 
far from Mrs. Moore's residence. The officers fre- 
quently visited that lady, probably attracted by her 
charming daughters. Mrs. Moore was a thorough 
patriot, but nevertheless entertained her guests most 
hospitably ; keeping, however, a sharp eye on her 
young people. A ship lay at anchor in the sound in 
sight ot the house, whose commander verv frequently 
was a guest of the lady. Her third and last child by 
the name of Ledyard, Jerusia, looked favorablv on 
her suitor, although he wore the uniform of a British 
naval officer, and was fighting against her country ; 
but her mother looked less favorably upon his suit. 
One dav Jerusia was missing, and the ship gave tokens 
of a sudden departure. Summoning some men, the 
determined mother had herself taken in a boat alongr- 
side the ship, and demanded her daughter ; but gave 
her consent to the nuptials, provided the ceremony 
was performed in the little Puritan church in the 
village, which was done. 

The oldest daughter by Mrs. Ledyard's second 
marriage, Rebecca, married Captain Jonathan Landon, 
who commanded the brig " Georgia " of historic fame ; 
and Julia, the youngest, became the wife of Matthias 
Case and succeeded her mother as mistress of the Led- 
yard-Moore-Case house. The latter name it bears 
at the present day. For years the town meetings were 
held at this house ; and whenever there was a question 
of a vote it was taken on the lawn in front, the voters 
being drawn up in lines.^ 



^ Both this house and the Case house are yet standing. 

^ Connected with this family are: Rev. Theodore Led^'a^d Cuyler, 
D.D., Lewis Cass Ledvard, Horatio Sevmour, John Sevmour, Ex-Gov. 
E. D. Morgan, Tliomas Sevmour of Connecticut, Governor and Con- 
gressman, Senator George Ledyard, and the Baroness von Kettler. 



\I28\ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

When Arnold left New York with his family for 
England in 178 1, Freneau celebrated his departure by 
an ode which is in imitation of Horace. 

Duyckinck says Freneau's rendering is quite skilful, 
and shows his scholar's appreciation of the original. 



ARNOLD'S DEPARTURE. 

Mala soluta navis exit aliter 
Ferens olentem Maevium. 

Imitated from Horace. 

With evil omens from the harbour sails 

The ill-fated ship that worthless Arnold bears, 

God of the southern winds, call up thy gales. 
And whistle in rude fury round his ears. 

With horrid waves insult his vessel's sides. 
And may the east wind on a leeward shore 

Her cables snap, u^hile she in tumult rides, 
And shatter into shivers every oar. 

And let the north vi^ind to her ruin haste. 

With such a rage, as vi^hen from mountains high 

He rends the tall oak v^^ith his weighty blast. 
And ruin spreads, where'er his forces fly. 

May not one friendly star that night be seen ; 

No Moon, attendant, dart one glimmering ray. 
Nor may she ride on oceans more serene 

Than Greece, triumphant, found that stormy day, 

When angry Pallas spent her rage no more 
On vanquish'd Ilium, then in ashes laid. 

But turn'd it on the barque that Ajax bore 
Avenging thus her temple and the maid. 

When toss'd upon the vast Atlantic main 

Your groaning ship the southern gales shall tear. 

How will your sailors sweat, and you complain 
And meanly howl to Jove, that will not hear ! 

[ p ] Vi2g\ 



Philip Freneau 

But if at last, upon some winding shore 
A prey to hungry cormorants you lie, 

A wanton goat to every stormy power,^ 
And a fat lamb in sacrifice, shall die. 

Of this poem, Professor Murray says some parts are 
unequalled. 

In this year, 1881, Freneau published his poem com- 
memorating the naval victory of Paul Jones. It was 
entitled " On the Memorable Victory," which the same 
professor says is a genuine specimen of the national 
ballad. One beautiful phase of Freneau's character 
was his freedom from all sentiment of jealousy. Prob- 
ably no one was ever found more willing to bestow 
praise, when deserved, than he. Although the entire 
poem is a panegyric, I select a few stanzas to exemplify 
what I have already stated : — 

" 'T was Jones, brave Jones, to battle led 
As bold a crew as ever bled 

Upon the sky surrounded main ; 
The standards of the western world 
Were to the willing winds unfurl'd, 

Denying Britain's tyrant reign." 

And again : — 

'' But thou, brave Jones, no blame shalt bear ; 
The rights of men demand your care : 

For these you dare the greedy waves — 
No tyrant, on destruction bent. 
Has plann'd thy conquests — thou art sent 

To humble tyrants and their slaves." 

The poem contains twenty-one stanzas descriptive 
of the battle. The concluding stanzas run thus : — 



& 



'' Go on, great man, to scourge the foe. 
And bid these haughty Britons know 

^ The tempests were s^oddesses among the Romans. 

U30\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

They to our Thirteen Stars shall bend; 
The Stars that, veil'd in dark attire, 
Long glimmer'd with a feeble fire. 

But radiant now ascend. 

*' Bend to the stars that flaming rise 
On western worlds, more brilliant skies, 

Fair Freedom's reign restor'd — 
So when the Magi, come from far. 
Beheld the God-attending Star, 

They trembled and ador'd." ^' 

During the year 178 1 and till peace was declared, 
Freneau strove to animate his countrymen with his 
pen, as indeed he had ever done since the outbreak of 
hostilities. From Concord to Yorktown, during the 
bleak winter at Valley Forge, and round the camp-fires 
on Temple Hill, his verses encouraged the desponding 
soldiers. The newspapers widely published them, and 
they were written on slips of paper and distributed 
throughout the army, or posted in some conspicuous 
place to be memorized. And not alone by the camp- 
fire did they accomplish their work, but even on 
the field ; his earnestness and zeal encouraged the 
patriots to greater efforts, or urged them on at the 
point of his bayonet (the pen) when he saw any signs 
of their lagging behind ; and afterwards he immortalized 
the victories they won. Not a memorable incident 
either by land or by water escaped his ever watchful 
and unwearied pen. 

Conscious that ridicule best kills a cause, every 
vain exploit of the enemy was depicted in a ludicrous 
light ; and so successfully did he attack those that still 
adhered to the crown that he gained to his side many 
who through indifference had given their adherence to 

^ This action was fought off Flamborough Head the 23d of Septem- 
ber, 1779. Few naval battles have made a greater popular impression. 
The history of Jones has an air of romance and gallantry, of courage 
and adventure. His ability as an officer and seaman cannot be disputed. 



Philip Freneau 



neither party. This was too serious a time to think 
of future fame ; the stern realities of the present were 
to be met, and by a supreme effort everything was to 
be gained or all lost. His country's fortunes were 
his, and he threw himself heart and soul into the task. 
Exquisite melodies could hardly touch the hearts of 
the half-clothed barefooted soldiers. It would be like 
the mockery of pouring a wineglass of Tokay or 
Johannisberg into the poor empty canteens of half- 
famished soldiers. No, he wrote to arouse, to inspire, 
to encourage the rough, illiterate men of whom the 
army was mostly composed. And as no two natures 
are precisely alike, he enlisted all his talents in his 
work; burlesque, satire, imprecation, — nothing was 
neglected that might touch an answering chord in 
their hearts. Now he would ring a note of victory, 
now one of defiance, again that of denunciation in 
answer to some Tory gibe. 

Some writer has said, " Was it not as grand and true 
a spirit that would behttle itself to cheer the down- 
hearted patriots, or give their unrefined ears some 
jingle to sing or some praise to cheer, as issued from 
the lips of the oiiicers on the field ? — it was all for the 
same cause." It has also been truthfully said that 
among the poets of the Revolution that contributed 
the most effectually to animate the colonists in their 
struggles with England, Freneau holds the chief place ; 
and that during the war, and for several years after- 
wards, his efforts were so much appreciated that he 
enjoyed a large measure of popularity : and even since 
that time many of his productions have received high 
praise abroad and at home. His real strength lay in 
his earnestness, and it was this quality that made his 
revolutionary verses popular, and contributed to their 
real merit. 

During the war he satirized Tryon, Gage, Bur- 
goyne,Vaughan, Knyphausen,and Lords Percy, North, 

[ ^32 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

and Jeffries, also the blundering of the British troops 
by land, and their losses by sea ; and, above all, the 
crown in its representative, George, whom he called a 
"royal coward." In fact, as Professor Tyler has said, 
" a running commentary on his Revolutionary satires 
would be an almost complete commentary on the 
whole Revolutionary struggle ; nearly every important 
emergency and phase of which are photographed in 
his keen, merciless, and often brilliant lines." 

The war ending in 1783, Freneau dropped his I 
bloodless warfare and turned his satirical powers \ 
upon the rival printers Rivington and Gaines ; who 
had changed their signs as well as their coats to suit 
each power that held the ascendency ; and which he 
thought called rather for ridicule than eloquence. And 
in this. Dr. Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, and 
Trumbull joined him, opening their batteries of se- 
verity and ridicule upon these unfortunate remnants of 
Toryism. James Rivington was a London bookseller , 
who had established himself in New York, and com- 
menced, in 1773, the publication of the "New York 
Gazetteer," a Tory organ. In 1775, Isaac Sears, a 
" Son of Liberty," destroyed his office and ran his 
type into bullets ; Rivington repaired to England, 
obtained the appointment of king's printer, and re- 
turned with new type to New York. Although he 
seemed to do his best to fan the flame of Toryism 
before and during the war, after it was over he 
escaped deserved punishment by having acted as 
a spy for Washington. Nevertheless, Freneau, who 
detested insincerity, commemorated his turncoat pro- 
pensities in several poems ; but Rivington, a supple 
courtier, stood the fire, took down the royal arms of 
which Freneau made sport, and continued his paper 
under the title of " New York Gazette and Universal 
Advertiser." This latter quality drew upon him Fre- 
neau's ridicule ; it is said that his advertisements sup- 



Philip Frcncau 



plied no small amount of amusement to all his readers, 
rhe poet caricatures them thus in his verses entitled, 
'•■ Rivino;ton's last Will and Testament," of which I 
will onlv quote an occasional verse : — 

*•' To the king, mv dear master, I give a full sett, 
In volumes bound up, of the Roval Gazette, 
In which he will tind the vast records contain'd 
Of provinces conquer'd, and victories gain'd. 

" As to Arnold, the traitor, and Satan his brother, 
1 beii; thev will also accept oi another ; 
And this shall be bound in morocco red leather, 
Provided thev '11 read it, like brothers, together. 

" But if Arnold should die, 't is another affair. 
Then Satan, surviving, shall be the sole heir; 
He often has told me he thought it quite clever. 
So to him and his heirs, I bequeath it forever. 

" I know there are some, that would fain be thought wise 
Who say mv Gazette is a record of lies; 
In answer to this I shall onlv replv — 
All the choice that I had was, to starve or to lie. 

" Mv fiddles, mv flutes, French horns and guitars,^ 
I leave to our Heroes, now wear)- oi wars — 
To the wars of the stage thev more boldly advance,^ 
The captains shall plav and the soldiers shall dance. 

" To Sir Henn- Clinton his use and behoof, 
I leave mv French brandv, of verv good proof; 
It will give him fresh spirits for battle and slaughter 
And make him feel bolder bv land and by water : 

^' To Baron Knvphausen, his heirs and assigns, 
I bequeath mv old Hock, and my Burgundy wines, 

1 Rivington setms to have prided himselt on his supply of ** good 
fiddles." " 

* ♦• It became fashionable at this period with the British officers to 
assume the business of the drama, to the no small mortification of those 
who had been holding them up as the conquerors of North America." 



[W] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

To a true Hessian drunkard, no liquors are sweeter, 
And I know the old man is no foe to the creature. 

" To a Cn-ncral, nw namesake, I give and dispose 
Of a purse full of clipp'd, light^ sweated half Joes : 
I hereby desire hinn to take back his trash. 
And return me my Hannay's infallible Wash. 

" My chessmen and tables, and other such chattels 
I tj;ive to Cornwallis, renowned in battles : 
By moving of these, not tracing the map, 
He'll explain to the king how he got in a trap." 

The type of the " Gazette " being rather delicate 
through age, Frcneau commemorates the fact in an 
epigram entitled " Kpigram. Occasioned by the 'Title 
of Mr. Rivin^tons New Tork Royal Gazette being 
scarcely legible." 

Undoubtedly to please Freneau, the editor of the 
" Gazette " got new types, and this fact called for some 
*' Lines. Occasioned by Mr. Riving tons new Titular 
types to his Royal Gazette of February 17, 1782." 

Then his arms fell under Freneau's fire and the edi- 
tor had new ones engraved, which called for another 
set of verses : — 



ON MR. RIVINGTON'S NEW ENGRAVED KING'S ARMS 
TO HIS ROYAL GAZETTE. 

PVom the regions of night, with his head in a sack. 
Ascended a person accoutred in black. 
And upward directing his circular eye whites; 
(Like the Jure-divino political Levites) 
And leaning his elbow on Rivington's shelf. 
While the printer was busy thus mus'd with himself: 
" My mandates are fully complied with at last. 
New Arms are engrav'd, and new letters are cast ■■, 
I therefore determine and freely accord. 
This servant of mine shall receive his reward." 

[ ^3J J 



Philip Freneau 



Then turning about, to the printer he said, 
"Who late was my servant shall now be my aid; 
Since under my banner so bravely you fight. 
Kneel down ! — for your merits I dubb you a knight^ 
From a passive subaltern I bid you to rise 
The Inventor, as well as the Printer of Lies." 

Freneau's other victim, Hugh Gaines, an Irishman 
by birth, had settled in New York as a printer in 
1750 ; and two years later established a newspaper 
called the " New York Mercury." His sign was a Bible 
and a crown ; his politics, whichever side was upper- 
most. After the war he was allowed to continue his 
book store, striking the crown from his sign ; but his 
paper was discontinued. At the beginning of the war 
he sided with the patriots, and when the British seized 
New York, he retired to New Jersey and published 
his paper there for a few weeks, but returned to New 
York and continued his printing, under the protection 
of the royal army. Freneau has written a Poetical 
Biography, of Gaines, in which he depicts his retreat to 
New Jersey, and in which occurs an image to which 
Mr. Delancey draws attention as being an " exceed- 
ingly fine one — one of the striking creations of the 
true poet." 

"IV. 

" From this very day 'till the British came in, 
We liv'd I may say, in the Desert of Sin ; — 
Such beating, and bruising, and scratching^ and tearing ; 
Such kicking, and cuffing, and cursing and swearing ! 
But when they advanc'd with their numerous fleet ^ 
And Washington made his nocturnal retreat} 
(And which they permitted^ I say to their shame, 
Or else your New Empire had been but a name). 
We townsmen, like women, of Britons in dread^ 
Mistrusted their meaning, and foolishly fled i 

* Retreat from Long Island. 

[ 136 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Like the rest of the dunces I mounted my steed. 
And gallop'd away with incredible speed, 
To Newark I hastened — but trouble and care 
Got up on the crupper and followed me there." l 

Before the war Gaines had published some of Fre- 
neau's satires against Great Britain, and the poet 
puts these words in Gaines' mouth in apology for 
the act: — 

" I first was a whig with an honest intent ; 
Not a Rebel among them talk'd louder or bolder. 
With his sword by his side, or his gun on his shoulder, 
Yes, I was a whig, and a whig from my heart, 
But still was unwilling with Britain to part — 
I thought to oppose her was foolish and vain, 
I thought she would turn and embrace us again. 
And make us as happy as happy could be. 
By renewing the aera of mild Sixty-three ; 
And yet, like a cruel undutiful son, 
Who evil returns for the good to be done^ 
Unmerited odium on Britain to throw, 
I printed some treason for Philip Freneau, 
Some damnable poems reflecting on Gage, 
The King and his Council, and writ with such rage, 
So full of invective, and loaded with spleen. 
So sneeringly smart, and so hellishly keen. 
That, at least in the judgment of half our wise men, 
Alecto herself put the nib to his pen." 

Dr. Francis, in his reminiscences, relates the meeting 
of Freneau and his victim after the war. The former 
was quietly looking at some books in the store of the 
latter, when a friend entered ; and in saluting Freneau, 
called him by name quite distinctly. The name ar- 
rested the attention of the old printer, who, lifting 
up his eyes, said, — 

1 Probably adapted from Horace: — 

♦' Post equitem sedet atra Cura. " 



Philip Freneau 



" Is your name Freneau ?*' 

" Yes," replied the poet, " Philip Freneau." 

" Philip Freneau ? " repeated Gaines. 

" Yes, sir, the same." 

"Then, sir," warmly returned the latter, "you are a 
clever fellow ; let me have the pleasure of taking you 
by the hand. Will you join me in my parlor around 
the corner and we will have a glass of wine together. 
You have given me and my friend Rivington a wide 
and lasting reputation." 

In 1784 we iind Freneau dating a poem from Port 
Royal; and from another, dated Charleston, 1786, we 
learn that he was visiting his brother in that year. 
From a note in a very old book we find that he made 
two voyages to Madeira as commander of the brig 
" Washington," which was owned and freighted by his 
brother. 

Pierre, or Peter Freneau, as he was usually called, 
was the younger and only living brother of the poet. 
It has been stated that he was graduated at Princeton 
College, but his name is not found upon their records. 
This may bq satisfactorily accounted for by the fact 
of his being a student at the time the British took 
possession of Nassau Hall, and the rolls then in use 
may have been destroyed, while the earlier records 
were, probably, safe by having been stored away, and 
have thus been handed down. Some years after his 
graduation, and in the year 1782, Peter took up his 
residence in Charleston. 

South Carolina was a favorite location for the 
Huguenot refugees ; consequently their numbers in 
that State exceeded that of any other. They founded 
large plantations on the banks of the Cooper River, 
and to them it is said the State is indebted for the 
introduction of the olive and mulberry. In the city 
of Charleston they added many new streets, and their 
merchants were distinguished as being the most active 

[ 138 ] 



T^he Poet of the Revolution 

and thrifty in the provinces ; and many of the most 
distinguished families of later days are descended from 
the Huguenot settlers. Charleston was a very aristo- 
cratic city, and it has been said to have had its no- 
bility in everything but titles. Among its residents 
at that time were the Right Hon. Richard Beresford, 
brother to the Premier ; Pierce Butler, cousin to the 
Duke of Ormond; Lady Mary Middleton, and others. 
All these circumstances may have combined to cause 
Peter to choose that city for a permanent residence. It 
is said that from the first he attracted general and 
favorable notice from those the best qualified as judges, 
and that he became a prominent and influential citizen 
of his adopted city. 

Peter was renowned throughout the State for his 
personal beauty ; and his manners were such as to 
endear him to all and render him popular in the 
extreme.^ It is most probable, if he married, that his 
wife died early, as Mr. Thomas in his Reminiscences, V-* 
to which I am indebted for most of these facts, says 
that although he kept up an establishment, he had no 
family but his slaves. It has also been stated that 
he never married. This, we think, is a mistake, as 
Philip's daughter Agnes remembered, as a child, see- 
ing his wife frequently at Mt. Pleasant, and that upon 
one of Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Freneau's visits they 
drove by easv stages from Charleston, and presented 
her father with the handsome span of horses, carriage, 
and slave coachman. Peter was noted for his hand- 
some presents and generous liberaUty. Mrs. Agnes 
Leadbeater also states that her elder sister Helen went 
to Charleston with her uncle and aunt and remained 
there some time, for the purpose of attending an 
excellent school conducted by a daughter of Admiral 

^ It is said that, when visiting Mr. and Mrs. Philip Freneau in Phila- 
delphia while that city was the seat of government, he became one of the 
greatest social favorites and one of the most talked-of men at the assemblies. 

\i39\ 



Philip Frcneau 



de Grasse/ as schools for females were few and poor 
near her home. Pierre never married again, but he 
enjoved in his home the friendship of many who were 
not friends alone in name, but in the deepest senti- 
ments of the heart. His conversational powers, we 
are told, were unequalled ; and what enhanced the 
charm was his utter unconsciousness of possessing 
such in any eminent degree ; he communicated the 
most interesting truths in a manner all the more 
agreeable, as he was not conscious of saying anything 
not already familiar to his hearers. 

Sometimes he would entertain his friends by ren- 
dering into English the famous Paris editions of 
Voltaire's plays. He was an admirable reader, and 
his translations were ready and unequalled, so that it 
was considered a great treat to listen to him. He 
was well versed in ancient, as well as modern lan- 
guages, reading the Old Testament in Hebrew, and 
the New in Greek. His Latin was said to be good, 
but he took greater pleasure in the living languages 
and translated well from the Italian, French, Spanish, 
and Portuguese. Napoleon is said to have remarked 
to Berthier, the Minister of War, that Freneau's 
translations of his bulletins were the only correct 
ones. Berthier communicated this fact to the French 
minister. Pierre's reading was extensive ; he devoted 
most of his time to it, taking a book into his hand 
almost as soon as he entered the house. 

In his early life he had started a paper called the 
^^ " Charleston City Gazette," which obtained a vast 
controlling influence throughout the entire State ; and 
it continued to increase until it was a complete political 
lever, he himself being a host. Pierre was peculiarly 
fitted for the position of editor, as he had a wide 
range of general knowledge and information ; and 

^ This lady afterwards married Mr. de Pau of New York. 

\i4o\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

he wrote with the greatest ease and facility, being 
seldom obliged to make an erasure. His style of 
composition is said to have combined the smoothness 
and beauty of Addison with the simplicity of Cobbett; 
his wit was ready, and he occasionally indulged in 
versification. 

Decided in advancing his own opinions, he was 
nevertheless just, and even liberal, to those that 
thought differently from him ; and no difference in 
political opinion ever caused a loss of his many warm- 
hearted and devoted friends. In politics he maintained 
the Republican-Democratic party, and remained ever 
identified with it. His paper was, even before Jeffer- 
son's administration, the journal of the State as \yell 
as of the citv, but after the nomination of the latter 
for the presidency, the patronage of the general gov- 
ernment was added. Jefferson was warmly attached 
to Pierre, and kept up a correspondence with him, 
as did many other prominent men. Unfortunately, 
many of his letters and papers were burned in the 
fire which consumed Philip's residence at Mount 
Pleasant. Of one of these letters we are fortunate 
enough to have a copy. It reads as follows : — 

Washington, May 20, 1803. 

Dear Sir, — I received last night from Paris the enclosed 
small parcel of Egyptian rice. I am not informed of its merits, 
but your's being the State where that can be best tried, I take 
the liberty of consigning it to your care, that we may be 
availed of whatever good it may oifer. 

The New York election no doubt attracted your attention 
from the inflated hopes of the Federalists. From a concurrence 
of circumstances they had been out with all their boldness. 
One source of their delusion was that they were so desirous 
of war themselves that they really believed the nation desired it. 
Never was defeat more complete ; in Jersey it is confidently 
believed we shall have 29 members out of 52 which con- 



Philip Freneau 



stitute both houses ; in Massachusetts we have gained two 
senators more than we had last year, and it is believed that in 
the election of representatives now going on, we shall gain 
also. In Connecticut we have lost greatly in their house of 
representatives, yet in the whole body of the people we have 
unquestionably gained, as is proved by the votes for Governor. 
Last year the votes for Trumbull and Kirby were 1 0,000 to 
4523 ; this year they are 14,300 to 7848 ; so that the last year 
of 100 parts of the whole voters, the Federalists had 71 and 
the Republicans 29 ; this year, of 100 parts of the whole voters 
the Federalists had 65, and the Republicans 35. We have ad- 
vanced then from 29 to 35, or 1, while they have fallen from 
71 to 65, or Jj. In New Hampshire they appear to have been 
more stationary. Delaware is entirely equivocal and uncer- 
tain. On the whole there is no doubt of republicanism gaining 
the entire ascendency in New England within a moderate time 
and consolidating; the union into one homog-eneous mass. 
In Philadelphia some heats have been excited against the leav- 
ing any Federalists in office, but these are softening down to 
moderation, while in the other states generally the course 
which has been pursued, altho' thought to have gone too far 
into removal, is acquiesced in and on the whole approved. 
We laid it down as a principal, in the beginning, that the 
Federalists had a right to a participation of office proportioned 
to their numbers ; they in fact professed all. We removed a 
few in marked cases ; we determined to remove all others who 
should take an active and bitter part against the order of 
things established by the public bill. Removals for this cause 
and for other delinquencies, resignations, and deaths have 
nearly given us our full proportion of office in all the States 
except Massachusetts. I speak of these offices only which are 
given by the President himself; the subordinate ones are left to 
their principals. At present, therefore, as from an early period 
of the administration, political principle, unless producing active 
opposition, is not a ground for removal, altho' it is as yet a 
bar to appointment, until the just proportion is fully restored. 
A letter begun with a view to cover a few deeds, and to say 
a word about elections, has led to a length not at first contem- 
plated. Desirous, however, that the principles of our proceed- 
ings should be understood, I explain them to no one more 



T'he Poet of the Revolution 

willingly than yourself, because I am sure you will use them with 
prudence and sincerity for the information and satisfaction of 
others when occasions may lead you to an expression of senti- 
ment. Should it be the means of giving me the advantage of 
receiving communications sometimes from you on the politi- 
cal state of things in your quarter, it will contribute to that 
information so desirable to myself, and so necessary to enable 
me to do what is best for the public interest. I pray you to 
accept my salutations, and utterances of esteem and respect. 

Th. Jefferson. 

Peter's influence was extended and widely felt ; and 
had he any personal ambition, there is no position 
in the power of the State to give that he could not 
have obtained, if he had manifested any desire for it. 
Although Freneau was so well fitted for the position 
of an editor, he was not so well qualified for that of 
a proprietor, as he was nothing of a business man ; 
and his friend adds that it would be difficult to say, 
at times which was in the greatest confusion, his 
private affairs or those of the establishment. Over 
two hundred more papers than were needed were 
printed daily, and made way with by the slaves attached 
to the office. In the year 1810 he gave the paper into 
the hands of his friend Mr. Thomas, and was after 
that time Director of the State Bank. After the paper 
had passed from his hands, his intimate friend Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney and Colonel Lehre met at' his 
house, as they were accustomed to do pending election, 
but this time it was for a special purpose. Knowing 
how impossible it was for Peter ever to say no, they 
asked him to request Mr. Thomas, the acting editor 
of the paper, to uphold a certain candidate they were 
desirous of having elected ; and they took this way of 
accomplishing their end, conscious of the unwillingness 
of the editor to further the candidacy, yet also knowing 
that he could never refuse his friend anything that he 
asked of him. 



Philip Freneau 



Freneau for some years held the office of Commis- 
sioner of Loans for the State of South Carolina ; and 
was several times member of the State Legislature, in 
which his services were said to be alike creditable to 
himself and useful to the State. Desirous of knowing 
how long he filled the position of Secretary of State, 
we applied to the corresponding secretary of the South 
Carolina Historical Society, and received in reply : 
" Concerning Peter Freneau, once an honored citizen 
of this State, I gather that he was Secretary of State in 
the years from 1788 to 94 inclusive;^ there is no list 
of State officers for 1795, ^^^ ^ '^^^ name appears in 
the office for 1796. So long a tenure of office as was 
that of your honored relative Peter Freneau is very 
uncommon," etc. 

Peter's inability to say no, and his readiness to oblige 
his friends, frequently got him into serious diffi- 
culties, as he too often went security for them and 
was thereby the loser. It was owing to this virtue, or 
fault, according to the different ways of viewing it, that 
he for the first time in his life was known to lose his 
wonted cheerfulness. An old and dear friend had 
indorsed his paper, and he became alarmed lest this 
friend should suffer on his account. He called upon 
an intimate acquaintance and informed him that the 
note would go to protest that day, as he was unable to 
meet it unless the former could loan him the money 
for the present. His friend, not having the amount 
on hand, promised it the next day and invited Peter 
to dine with him, which invitation Freneau refused. 
Something in his manner attracted the attention of the 
other, and he shortly after called at Freneau's office. 
Entering softly, he was not perceived until he laid his 
hand upon Peter's shoulder. The latter was absorbed 
in his writing, and, starting, looked up into his visitor's 
face. Four notes lay folded upon the desk, the upper 

1 Freneau held the office eight years altogether. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

one being addressed to the visitor. In a moment the 
intention of Freneau flashed upon his friend, but he 
pretended not to notice anything, saying quietly, " Fre- 
neau, give me your word of honor that I shall find you 
here one hour hence," adding, " I am on my way to 
the notary's." Peter's face evinced how a mighty 
mind could be shaken and even overcome by the 
tempest of adversity, but he gave the desired promise. 
The friend hastened to the bank and had the note de- 
layed until the next day, and hurried back to Freneau's 
office. The note had disappeared, and in a slight de- 
gree the old cheerfulness had returned. His friend 
remained with him till late, avoiding any allusion to 
what had happened, merely saying that all would be 
satisfactorily arranged in the morning ; and the serious 
danger with which his friend was threatened was never 
known, and he adds, " he lived to be the delight of 
his friends for several years." 

With talents fitted for any station, his friend tells 
us, he nevertheless wished to retire from active life 
that he might be able to enjoy seclusion and the 
society of his books and friends in peace ; conse- 
quently he began to build a cottage in the interior of 
the State, intending to spend there the remainder of 
his days. Desirous of visiting the workmen, although 
dissuaded by his friends, he went there, trusting to the 
perfect condition of his health to insure him against 
the dangers of the miasma, so fatal at that time of the 
year. He remained there over a week, and returned 
apparently in perfect health, and with his usual flow 
of spirits, but was soon after taken very ill. The de- 
voted attention of his friends and the best medical 
advice were of no avail ; he was constantly watched by 
the daughter of one of his old friends, but Death had 
marked him for his prey, and on the fifth day he 
succumbed. His strong constitution was so completely 
exhausted that for some time before his death he did 



Pbi/ip Froicciu 



not utter ;i ct''^"''^'^ '^'^ even sigh, :ind scarcely seemed 
to breathe ; and " thus ended the Hfe of a man, who, 
to transcendent talents united that amiabihty of tem- 
per and benevolence of heart that made him the friend 
of his race." 

••••l^his all who knew him know. 
This all who loved him tell. 
Whose like we ne'er shall look upon again." 

In appearance, Freneau resembled to such a remark- 
able dei^ree the great British statesman Fox that a 
tViend purposclv brought a portrait of the latter with 
him on his return from England to deceive his ac- 
quaintances ; who, knowing Frcneau's aversion to sit- 
ting tor his portrait, would exclaim upon seeing it on 
the mantelpiece, " How did vou come by Freneau's 
portrait ? " and not alone in phvsique did Peter re- 
semble the great statcsnian, but in his mental calibre 
also. In heii^ht he was six t-eet two inches, and ot 
such pertect proportions and beauty ot countenance 
that one would say " every god did seem to set his 
seal to give the world assurance of a man." 

Mr, Thomas, his devoted friend, took charge of 
his funeral, which was largelv attended, and he was 
buried in the French Huguenot church in Charleston. 
His epitaph reads : — 

" ll"-.:tcvn' Omnlpzitnct dtcxdts h right. 

" Below this marble are deposited the remains of Peter Fre- 
neau, Esq. A native of New Jersey, but for more than thirty 
years past a citi/en of South Carolina. He ^vas the second 
son of Peter Freneau and Agnes Watson, born April 5th, 
175". Died Nov. 9th, A. D. 1S13, :v. titty-six years seven 
months and tour days. His upright and benevolent character 
is in the memory of many, and will remain when this inscrip- 
tion is no louijer k\:,ible. He w.is Soeretarv of State of South 
Carolina eight years." 



Chapter Ninth 



THE year 1789 was an Important one in Fre- 
neau's life, as during that period there occurred 
two events that covered the entire course of 
his fiiture, — the one shaping his private, and the 
other his political lite. 

The first of these events was that of his marriage 
with Eleanor, daughter of Samuel and Helen Denise 
Forman, a prominent and wealthy family of New 
Jersey, which had, and has since that time, given to 
the country a sjalaxy of names which have reflected 
honor on the land of their birth, and occupied prom- 
inent places on its roll of honor, in military as well 
as civil affairs. 

Eleanor's two brothers and cousin served in the 
Revolutionary War, — the latter. General David For- 
man, being familiarly known as " Black David," on 
account of his excessive severity towards those who 
did not favor the Revolution. This officer ably com- 
manded the New Jersey militia in the battle of Ger- 
mantown, which engagement, in reality a defeat, was 
considered as advantageous to the Americans as a 
victory. In it the genius of Washington and the 
bravery and discipline of the army showed to such 
advantage as to rank it in the eyes of all Europe as 
nearly on an equality with the surrender of Burgoyne, 
and as to cause Frederic of Prussia to acknowledge 
the formidable power the American army might be- 
come, as well as to decide the French Court to con- 
sider us as allies.^ After the war General Forman 

1 John Fiskc, in Atlantic Monthly. 



Philip Freneau 



was a member of the Council of State, and Judge of 
the County Court. He was also one of the original 
members of the Order of The Cincinnati. 

Eleanor's eldest brother, Colonel Jonathan For- 
man, married a sister of Colonel William Ledyard, 
of whom we have spoken in the preceding chapter ; 
their grandchildren were Horatio Seymour, who mar- 
ried into the Bleecker family, and was several times 
Governor of New York State, and a candidate for the 
Presidency,^ and John Seymour, who married in the 
Tappan family ; his granddaughters married, the one. 
Judge Miller of Utica ; another, Roscoe Conkling ; and, 
a third her cousin, Ledyard Lincklaen, whose daughter 
married Charles S. Fairchild, Secretary of the Treasury 
during Cleveland's first administration. 

Eleanor Freneau's second brother. Captain Denise 
Forman, married into the Kearny family to which 
Philip's step-father belonged. This family, trebly re- 
lated to Freneau, gave Major-General Philip Kearny^ 
to the country. The daughter of Eleanor's third 
brother, Major Samuel Forman, married General 
Rensselaer Van Rensselaer, and her eldest sister, Cath- 
erine, married Colonel William Ledyard, thus forming 
a double connection with that family. Catherine's 
eldest son. Major Benjamin Ledyard, married the 
daughter of Freneau's old college-mate, Brockholst 
Livingston, and consequently the niece of John Jay's 
wife ; and his son ^ married a daughter of General Cass. 
Catherine's other grandchildren formed double rela- 

^ Governor Thomas Seymour of Comiecticut was also a relative. 

2 Philip Kearny married Susan, daughter of John Watts and Jane 
Colden a sister of Cadwallader Colden. This John Watts was son of 
John Watts senior and Ann Delancey ; Philip was father of General Philip 
Kearny. 

3 A son of this gentleman is now President of the Michigan Central 
Railroad, viz., Mr. Henrj- Ledyard, father of the Baroness Von Kettler, 
whose husband was killed in China, when minister to that country from 
Germany. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

tionships with the families of Seymour and Fairchild ; 
and another of them married into the Fitzhugh family ; 
and through their child, a triple connection was formed 
with the Seymour family. 

Eleanor's second sister, Margaret, married Major 
Burrows. Major Gordon, a graduate of Princeton 
College of the class of 1786, was likewise a relative of 
hers. Eleanor is said to have been distinguished for 
her well informed mind, sprightliness of disposition, 
elegance of manner, affability, and excellent conver- 
sational powers ; and she is said to have retained these 
qualities, as well as much of her personal beauty, to 
her old age. She was intimately acquainted with many 
distinguished personages, and was a charming hostess, 
in her husband's residence at Mount Pleasant as 
well as in Philadelphia. Mrs. Freneau had a poetic 
taste and wrote with ease ; her compositions are said 
to have been distinguished by character and intelli- 
gence. She corresponded for some time before her 
marriage with Freneau in verse. An amusing anecdote 
is told of her sprightliness before her marriage. In 
one of Freneau's visits she left him to entertain the 
other members of the family, and, slipping from the 
room while he was thus engaged, she dexterously 
sheared off some of the superfluous capes attached to 
his outer garment, such as we have already spoken of 
as having been in vogue ; whether they were displeas- 
ing to her as being old-fashioned, or for some other 
reason, she probably stated in the verses in which she 
commemorated the feat, and which she enclosed to 
him. Her writings were consumed in the conflagra- 
tion at Mount Pleasant, but in a paper of the day -^ is 
found an extract from a letter of hers to her brother 
Samuel, he having removed with his family, consisting 
of his wife and one child who afterwards married 
General Van Rensselaer, to central New York. 

1 Evening Post. 



Philip Frencau 



" I am forever thinking of you and our other dear friends 
fn that new country .^ Had you and they been situated nearer 
to^^ether, and nearer to me, I should then care more tor the 
world than 1 do. Mv two little girls and books are my chief 
comforters. I wish it was in my power to send you out as 
good a collection of the latter as we have here. You would 
not feel the loss of friendship and the want of company as 
much as vou do. We must endeavor to make ourselves as 
independent of the world as possible, and let our own minds 
furnish us with that pleasure which too many are in search of 
abroad. ... I know vou will make the best use of vour soli- 
tude. Mr. Freneau joins me in much love to you." ^ 

The second great event of the year 1789 was the 
adoption of" the Constitution, and its consequence, the 
inauguration of Washington as the hrst President of 
the United States. In one of the centennial publica- 
tions in the year 1809, it was said that the President 
elect was met at Elizabethtown by a joint committee 
of Congress and escorted to New York, and that 
Philip Freneau, who afterward, as editor of the 
" National Gazette," made it hot for the Washington 
administration, accompanied the party across the bay, 
and in the excitement of the occasion probably huzzahed 
with the loudest. Another version is that he came up 
the bay from Charleston on the day of the proces- 
sion, but he would not run up his colors in honor of 
the event. xA-s the subject is an open one, we leave 
our readers to beheve which they choose ; we prefer 
the former. Upon the attendant ceremony it was 
Freneau's relative, the Right Reverend Samuel Provost, 
that conducted the rehgious services in old Saint Paul's 
Church.s 

1 Cavuga and Cazenovia Lakes. 

- This brother died in Syracuse, New York, in 1S62. 

8 It is said that when the question of holding services on the day of the 
inauguration was agitated and Bishop Provost was appealed to on the sub- 
ject, he said that he had aln-ays been used to look up to the Government 
upon such occasions, and he thought it prudent not to do anything till 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Although the oath of office was administered, and 
the Constitution went into operation the last day of 
April, it was not until the fall of the year that any 
important step was taken. After the Cabinet and 
judges of the Supreme Court were chosen, the next 
matter was to decide upon the location of the future 
capital of the nation. New York was not willing to 
cede the amount of territory required, therefore it was 
decided to remove to Philadelphia for the period of 
ten years. 

A certain writer,^ in praising Philadelphia, and after 
enumerating all the various ports at which she traded, 
her schools, and other advantages, adds : "In fact, 
there may be obtained the knowledge of the arts and 
sciences, and here may be had, on any day of the 
week, tarts, pies, cake, etc. ; and no jealousy amongst 
men, and no old maids." It seems quite evident, after 
this panegyric, why Congress selected this tavored city 
in which to hold its sessions. Undoubtedly the an- 
ticipation of regaling themselves in their recesses upon 
the tarts, pies, etc., had great weight with those upon 
whom the selection devolved ; and does not the tact 
go to prove that in reality woman was the tactor that 
transformed this charming city of " Brotherly Love " 
into the. city of Brotherly Discord it eventually 
became, and of introducing some jealous men into it ? 
for a writer has said, " Man is what he eats, and woman 
is the caterer." Tarts, pies, and cake were the 
modern apple, the fair caterer the modern Eve ; and, 
tempting the modern Adam, " he did eat ; " and the 
modern Eden became a modern Babel. 

However it was, Congress in removing itself to 
other quarters greatly discomfited the residents of 

they knew what Government would direct. Eben Hazard, hearing this, 
said : " If the good bishop never prays without an order from Govern- 
ment it is not probable that the kingdom of heaven will sutler much from 
his violence." (Bowen, in Century Magazine.) 
* Gabriel Thomas. 

I ^51 ] 



Philip Freneau 



New York City. No more public fetes and court 
balls ; no more state pageants and processions ; no 
more president, senators, or legislature. Freneau, too, 
was disappointed, as he had made arrangements to 
edit a paper in New York, called " The Daily Adver- 
tiser," but it would seem from a letter written by him 
to Madison, dated July 25, 179 1, that the latter had 
offered him some inducements to go to Philadel- 
phia. Freneau writes from Middletown Point, New 
Jersey, saying that he is detained there by some 
pressing business, but that if he should meet Madison 
upon his return to New York, which would be in a 
few days, he would then give him a definite answer 
relative to printing his paper at the seat of govern- 
ment, instead of in New York as he had intended. 
Freneau eventually succeeded in exchanging the " Ad- 
vertiser" for the "National Gazette" of Philadelphia, 
and the first number appeared under his direction in 
October of the year 1791. 

The revenues of the country had been well drained 
for the expenses of the war, and the indebtedness of 
the States amounted to eighty million dollars, — an 
immense debt for an impoverished country. The 
princely fortune of Robert Morris had gone to pay 
his country's debts, and the fortunes of many others 
had gone in the same way. Affairs were bordering 
on bankruptcy, the colonial currency had depreciated 
to a few cents on the dollar, and the treasury existed 
only in name. Literary work, not being an absolute 
necessity, was below par ; and, as we know, the loss of 
his fine ship, the " Aurora," had sadly crippled the 
resources of Freneau, who had now a family to 
support, and an estate and slaves to maintain. It 
may have been to add something to his small editorial 
revenue that he accepted the proposition to become 
foreign translator to the Department of State, with the 
paltry salary of two hundred and fifty dollars per 



The Poet of the Revolution 

annum. It may have been, as some thought, that he 
accepted the position through some political motive. 
Amongst the Jefferson papers one may find the pro- 
posal made Freneau in the handwriting of, and signed 
by, the Secretary of State ; it runneth thus : — 

Philadelphia, Feb. 28, 1791. 
Sir, — The clerkship for foreign languages in my office is 
vacant ; the salary, indeed, is very low, being but two hundred 
and fifty dollars a year; but also it gives so little to do as not 
to interfere with any other calling one may chuse, which 
would not absent him from the seat of government. I was 
told a i&<N days ago that it might, perhaps, be convenient to 
you to accept it, — if so, it is at your service. It requires no 
other qualification than a moderate knowledge of French. 
Should anything better turn up within my department that 
might suit you, I should be very happy to bestow it as well. 
Should you conclude to accept the position, you may consider 
it as engaged to you, only be so good as to drop me a line 
informing me of your resolution. 

I am, with great esteem, sir. 

Your very humble servt. 

Th. Jefferson. 

Freneau's appointment appears amongst the State 
papers, dated August 16, 1791, signed by Jefferson ; 
below which, in Freneau's handwriting, appear these 
significative words : " I hereby resign the same ap- 
pointment from October first, 1793." He had held 
the office two years, one month, and fifteen days. 

In a Philadelphia paper of the times appeared the 
following paragraph : " Thomas Jefferson Esq., Secre- 
tary of State for the United States, has appointed 
Captain Philip Freneau, interpreter of the French 
language for the Department of State." It seems that 
Philadelphia no longer lacked "jealousy amongst 
men," for an outcry was raised immediately. *' A 
combination between an editor of a journal and the 
Secretary of State !" And they did not let any time 

\i53\ 



Philip Freneau 



pass without letting Freneau feel the weight of their 
displeasure. 

" The circumstance of your having come from 
another state to set up and conduct a state paper ; the 
circumstance of the editor of that new paper being 
appointed a clerk in the Department of State ; the 
coincidence in point of time of that appointment with 
the commencement of your paper, or to speak more 
correctly its precedency — the conformity between 
the complexion of your paper and the known politics 
of the head of the department who employed you — 
these circumstances, collectively, leave no doubt of 
your true situation ; the connection arising from them 
is too strong to be weakened by any of those bold or 
even solemn declarations which are among the hack- 
neyed tricks employed by the purists in politics of 
every country and age to cheat the people into a 
belief of their superior sanctity, integrity, and virtue. 
If you had been previously the conductor of a news- 
paper in this city — if your appointment had been any 
considerable time subsequent to the institution ot 
your paper — there might have been some reason for 
subterfuge, but as matters stand, you have no pos- 
sible escape." 

We all know that at the time of the framing of the 
Constitution the political world was divided into two 
antagonistic parties : the one calling themselves Feder- 
alists, who believed in centralization, and the other, 
anti-Federalists or Republicans (the name of Democrat 
then being given only by way of reproach), who 
believed in decentralization. 

The former party had adopted as their platform 
the principles of a close and lasting union between the 
States, and a compact form of government invested 
with authority by the State, and not by the individuals 
of which it was composed. The English Constitution 
being in their opinion the nearest to perfect ever 

I ^54 ] 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

planned, they deemed it the most desirable one upon 
which to form the Constitution of the United States. 
They desired that the President should be elected for 
life upon good behavior ; and that the senators and 
the governors of the different States should be selected 
by the Senate. They wished the Senate and House of 
Representatives to make the laws, and the President 
to execute them, and that the latter should have the 
power to veto the Acts of the State Legislatures. 
They desired restricted suffrage, the encouragement 
of foreign commerce and domestic manufacture, the 
latter protected by tariff. They deemed it necessary 
to have a powerful standing army, and desired a dip- 
lomatic service like that of Europe, and that there 
should be great formality along with the etiquette of 
the foreign courts, which they thought necessary to 
insure respect for authority. This party comprised 
those who inclined to England through kinship, lan- 
guage, and hatred of France. 

The anti-Federalists, or Republicans, desired to pre- 
serve the independence of the several States, and 
advocated unity in regard to foreign matters, but 
plurality in home affairs. They wished to retain the 
Plan of Confederation, altering it to suit the present 
state of affairs and present needs. They thought such 
a centralization of power as the Federalists desired 
would rob the individual States of their sovereignty, 
and clothe the President with too much power, leaving 
the people too unprotected. They advocated the ex- 
tension of suffrage, and the encouragement of agricul- 
ture and internal trade, rather than foreign commerce. 
They preferred the employment of well drilled militia 
instead of standing armies, and advocated simplicity 
and economy in the government, and the doing away 
with all monarchial forms ; also open sessions of Con- 
gress. They charged the Federals with the design of 
establishing a monarchy on the ruins of the republican 



Philip Freneau 



form of government, and they even thought to see 
embodied in their plan certain principles which might 
sustain this charge. They inclined to France, as hav- 
ing come to our assistance in time of need, and hated 
England because of her injustice and unnatural con- 
duct towards her colonies, and harsh treatment of her 
colonial subjects. 

The Federalists were in the majority and were de- 
fended by Alexander Hamilton, who was of foreign 
birth, and, although free from State prejudices in a con- 
siderable degree, still evinced a repugnance to a re- 
publican form of government. His sympathies were 
pre-eminently with England. 

Franklin had been the originator of the Plan of 
Confederation ; it had been his ruling idea for a re- 
publican form of government since before the Revolu- 
tion, and he desired its continuance in a modified form. 

The strife between the two parties for the shaping 
of the Constitution ran high, and very probably there 
has been nothing equal to it in the history of America. 

From this strife arose a third party ; for many feared 
that such a vast amount of power centralized in one 
person might lead to despotism, yet they were desir- 
ous of having a closer bond of union between the 
States than would exist under the Plan of Confedera- 
tion. Of this party Madison was the founder, and 
his plan combined the views of the other parties, and 
is the basis of our present Constitution. 

All three parties felt the truth expressed in these 
words of James Wilson, although their several appli- 
cations of them differed somewhat : — 

"We are laying the foundation of a building in 
which millions are interested, and which is to last for 
ages. In laying one stone amiss we may injure the 
superstructure, and what will be the consequences if 
the corner-stone should be loosely placed ? " 

Jefferson was in France at the time, and had no 



The Poet of the Revolution 

part in the framing of the Constitution ; but he was 
known to have opposed it in its origin, and his adver- 
saries did not hesitate to make known the fact at the 
time of his supposed coaHtion with the editor of the 
" National Gazette." 

" It is a fact," they wrote, " which the debates in the Vir- 
ginia Convention will testify, that Mr. Jefferson was, in the 
origin, opposed to the present Constitution of the United 
States. It is a fact known to every man who approaches that 
officer (for he takes no pains to conceal it and will not thank 
you to deny it), that he arraigns the principal measures of the 
government and it may be added with indecent if not indiscreet 
warmth." 

And he was brought to task pretty severely for con- 
ferring an office in his department upon an editor of 
a paper. It was said to be " an experiment somewhat 
new in the history of political manoeuvre in the coun- 
try ;" and again, that " a connection between the editor 
of a paper and a head of a department of the govern- 
ment is mdelicate and imfit^ and consequently of a 
nature to justify suspicion." 

In his reply to a letter from Washington, in which 
the latter seems to have reproached him for this con- 
nection, Jefferson makes some very sarcastic allusions 
to the Secretary of the Treasury, whom he seems to 
hold accountable for the reproach, and then goes on to 
say : — 

" When we removed to Philadelphia, Mr. Pintard, the trans- 
lating clerk, did not choose to remove with us ; his office then 
became vacant. I was applied to there, for Freneau, and had 
no hesitation to promise the clerkship for him. I cannot rec- 
ollect whether it was at the time or afterwards, that I was 
told he had a thought of setting up a newspaper there ; but 
whether then or afterwards, I considered it a circumstance of 
some value, as it might enable me to do what I had long 



Philip Freneau 



wished to have done; that is, to have the material parts of the 
' Leyden Gazette ' brought under your eye and that of the public, 
in order to possess yourself and them of a juster view of the 
affairs of Europe than could be obtained from any other public 
source. This I had ineffectually attempted through the press 
of Mr, Fenno while in New York, selecting and translating 
passages myself at first, then having it done by Mr. Pintard, 
the translating clerk. But they found their way too slowly 
into Freneau's papers. 

" Mr. Bache essayed it for me in Philadelphia ; but his, 
being a daily paper, did not circulate sufficiently in the other 
States. He even tried, at my request, the plan of a weekly 
paper of recapitulation, from his daily paper, in hopes that 
that might go into the other States ; but in this too we failed. 
Mr. Freneau as translator, and the editor of a periodical paper 
likely to circulate through the States (uniting in one person 
the parts of Pintard and Fenno), served my hopes that the 
thing could at length be effected. 

" On the establishment of his paper, therefore, I furnished 
him with the ' Leyden Gazettes,' with an expression of my 
own wish that he would always translate and publish the 
material intelligence they contained ; and I have continued to 
furnish them from time to time, as regularly as I received 
them. But as to any other direction or indication of my wish, 
— how his press should be conducted, what sort of intelligence 
he should give, what essays encourage, — I can protest in the 
presence of Heaven, that I never did, by myself or through any 
other, directly or indirectly, say a syllable nor attempt any kind ' 
of influence. I can further protest in the same awful presence, 
that I never did, bv myself or any other, directly or indirectly, 
write, dictate, or procure any one sentiment or sentence to be 
inserted in his or any other gazette^ to which my name was not 
affixed, or that of my office.^ 

"I surely need not except here a thing so foreign to the 
present subject as a little paragraph about our Algerine cap- 
tives, which I put once into Fenno's paper. Freneau's prop- 
osition to publish a paper having been about the time that 
the writings of ' Publicola,' and the discourses on ' Davila ' had 

1 This letter was written in 1792, a year before Freneau retired from 
the editorship of the paper. 



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"The Poet of the Revolution 

a good deal excited the public attention, I took for granted 
from Freneau's character, which had been marked as that of a 
good Whig, that he would give free place to pieces written 
against the aristocratical and monarchical principles these 
papers had inculcated. 

"This having been in my mind, it is likely enough I may 
have expressed it in conversation with others, though I do not 
recollect that I did ; to Freneau I think I could not, because I 
had still seen him but once, and that was at a public table at 
breakfast at Mrs. Ellsworth's, as I passed through New York 
the last year ; and I can safely declare that my expectations 
looked only to the chastisement of the aristocratical and mo- 
narchical writers, and not to any criticisms on the proceedings 
of the government. Colonel Hamilton can see no motive for 
any appointment but that of making a convenient partisan; 
but you. Sir, who have received from me recommendations of 
a Rittenhouse, Barlow, Paine, will believe that talent and 
science are sufficient motives with me in appointments to 
which they are fitted, and that Freneau, as a man of genius, 
might find a preference in my eye to be a translating clerk, 
and make good title, moreover, to the little aids I could give 
him as the editor of a gazette, by procuring subscriptions to 
his paper as I did, — some before it appeared, — and as I have 
with pleasure done for the labors of men of genius. As 
to the merits or demerits of his paper, they certainly concern 
me not. He and Fenno are rivals for the public favor. 
The latter courts them by flattery, the former by censure, 
and I believe it will be admitted that the latter has been as 
servile as the former severe. But is not the dignity and even 
decency of government committed when one of its principal 
ministers enlists himself as an anonymous writer, or para- 
graphist, for either the one or the other of them ? No 
government ought to be without censors; and where the press 
is free, no one ever will. If virtuous it need not fear the fair 
operation of attack and defence ; nature has given to man no 
other means of sifting out the truth, either in religion, law, 
or politics. I think it as honorable to the government neither 
to know nor notice its sycophants or censors as it would be 
undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute 
the latter." 



Philip Freneau 



It was a time of fierce political excitement ; the new 
Constitution not being in fair working order, was 
consequently exposed in its weakest point, that of 
its infancy, to the attack of its adversaries. The 
"National Gazette" is said to have been, under Fre- 
neau, a powerful political paper ; and for Jefferson to 
have such a powerful machine with which to fling his 
weapons at the heads of the government did not 
appear a very agreeable prospect to the opposite party. 
In speaking of the keenness and readiness of these 
weapons, Mr. Benjamin says, " What Tyrtaeus was to 
the Spartans, was Freneau to the Republicans or anti- 
Federalists." Certainly he did a work, and a great 
one in his own way, for often what can be accom- 
pHshed by no other means may be by ridicule, wit, 
and irony ; and these Freneau could always bring to 
his aid. The first, a German critic has compared 
to a blow of the fist, the second to the irritating 
prick of a needle, and the third to the prick of a 
thorn. 

In 1 79 1 the Secretary of the Treasury proposed a 
" Bank of the United States," but this plan Jefferson 
violently opposed, deeming it unconstitutional and 
of a dangerous character, considering the feeling then 
existing in the Southern States ; but Hamilton carried 
his point, and the bank was chartered in the same year, 
with ten million dollars as capital. The anti-Federal- 
ists were much opposed to this bank, and Freneau, 
who was always able, when pressed, to bring his muse 
to his aid, composed some doggerel for the occasion; 
it probably served to let off a little of his surplus 
steam : — 

*' George, on thy virtues often have I dwelt, 
And still the theme is grateful to mine ear. 
Thy gold let chemists ten times over smelt, 
From dross and base alloy they '11 find it clear. 

{i6o\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Yet thou 'rt a man, although perhaps the first, 

But man at best is but a being frail ; 

And since with error human nature 's curst, 

I marvel not that thou shouldst sometimes fail. 

That thou hast long and nobly served the state. 

The nation owns znA freely gives thee thanks; 

But Sir ! whatever speculators prate — 

She gave thee not the power to 'stablish banks." 

Nevertheless, the " Bank of the United States" con- 
tinued until President Jackson's time ; but he, having 
always been its implacable enemy, vetoed the renewal 
of the charter in 1831; and at its expiration in 1836 it 
died the death, involving many interested in it. This 
act of Jackson's was considered a stroke of wisdom, 
but Freneau did not live to see it accomplished ; he 
died the year before the renewal of the charter was 
vetoed. 

One of the criticisms to which the newly framed 
Constitution was subjected was that of developing as 
much of a monarchical form of government, as well as 
its etiquette, as was possible. It was well known that 
the Secretary of the Treasury was in favor of curtailing 
State sovereignty and investing the federal authority 
with as great an amount of prestige as was consistent 
with a republican form of government ; and that the 
Vice-President, according to his own words, considered 
the " love of superiority and desire of distinction, admi- 
ration, and applause the great springs of human activity, 
at least in all that related to politics, and that no govern- 
ment could be secure or permanent which did not pro- 
vide for the reasonable gratification as well as for the 
due restraint of this principal passion ; and that there- 
fore a certain mixture of aristocracy and monarchy 
was necessary to that balance of interests and senti- 
ments without which free governments could not exist." 
It was also well known that the chief magistrate in- 
clined to English etiquette, as well as towards govern- 
[^/] [ 161 ] 



Philip Freneau 



ment ceremonial. His intercourse with Congress was 
modelled upon that of the English kings, being in 
person, — a committee having first perfected all the 
attendant ceremonies. 

Washington has given us a description of the cere- 
monial. He drove there, he writes, — 

••' in a coach drawn by six horses preceded by Colonel Hum- 
phrey and Major Johnson, in uniform, on my two white 
horses, and followed by Messrs. Lear and Nelson in my chariot, 
Mr. Lewis on horseback following them. In their rear was 
the Chief Justice of the United States and the secretaries of 
the Treasury and War Department (Hamilton and Knox) in 
their respective carriages, and in the order they are named. 
At the outer door I was met by the doorkeepers of the Senate 
and House and was conducted to the door of the Senate cham- 
ber, and passing from thence to the chair, through the Senate 
on the right and the House on the left, I took my seat. 

" The gentlemen who attended me followed and took their 
stand behind the senators, the whole rising as I entered. After 
being seated, at which time the members of both Houses also 
sat, I rose, as they also did, and made my speech, delivering 
one copy to the President of the Senate and another to the 
speaker of the House of Representatives, after which and being 
a i&vf minutes seated, I retired, bowing on each side to the 
assembly (who stood) as I passed, and, descending to the lower 
hall, attended as before, I returned with them to my house." 

Mr. Peter Gerard Stuyvesant, at a banquet in 1839, 
said that Washington seldom walked in the street; 
his public recreation was in riding. When accompanied 
by Mrs. Washington, he rode in a carriage drawn by 
six Virginia bays with two outriders, who wore rich 
livery, cocked hats with cockades, and powder. When 
he rode on horseback he was accompanied by one or 
more of the gentlemen of his family, and attended by 
his outriders. The state carriage was of English make, 
— a very large cream-colored chariot of globular form, 
surrounded by cupids supporting festoons of flowers 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

emblematically arranged around the panel-work ; the 
whole being covered with best coach-glass. 

This display, it has been remarked, had the effect 
of repressing the spirits of those who approached the 
chief magistrate, and many comments were passed upon 
it, as it seemed to savor too much of the royalty which 
had been banished from the land. Mr. Joseph Dennie, 
the editor, remarked that " although the genius of our 
government is republican, yet our conversation partakes 
much of the old leaven of monarchy," The presi- 
dential levees and Mrs. Washington's parties people 
thought " imitated too much the pomps and maxims 
of the Court." Freneau held that Americans embrac- 
ing the new and republican form of government 
should leave behind all that savored of the maxims 
and prejudices of the old regime, and become identi- 
fied with the manner of life they profess to embrace ; 
he therefore attacked all this ceremonial most unspar- 
ingly, going, it is said, sometimes beyond all bounds, 
and consequently drawing upon himself the attacks of 
the opposite party. 

In 1792 Washington was a second time unanimously 
elected president; and he had scarcely entered upon his 
second term of office in the spring of '93, when France 
declared war with Holland; and in April Washington 
announced his intention of maintaining strict neu- 
trality; his proclamation to that effect provoked great 
discussion. The French government, desirous of gain- 
ing the Americans to espouse its cause, appointed 
Citizen Edmund Charles Genest, written in America 
Genet, as ambassador to the United States ; for, al- 
though his father was attached to the Court of France, 
and his sister, Madame Campan, was in the service of 
Marie Antoinette, he had espoused the cause of the 
republican party. Young Genet was already skilled 
in the art of diplomacy, having studied it in the school 
of his father; and he began to put it in practice 



Philip Freneau 



immediately upon his landing. He was received in 
Charleston, at which port he landed, with the greatest 
enthusiasm. His journey to the capital consumed an 
entire month, and his progress was a complete ovation. 

Upon reaching Gray's Ferry at Philadelphia, a large 
portion of the population went out to meet and wel- 
come Genet, and he was conducted in triumph to the 
city, where he was tendered an address congratulating 
France upon obtaining the freedom she had helped 
the United States to secure. In the evening a ban- 
quet was given in his honor, during the course of 
which Freneau was requested to translate the French 
ode written by Duponceau, the singing of which is 
said to have been one of the items of the festival. 

The French republic was looking anxiously to this 
country tor aid in its conflict with Europe, and espe- 
cially upon the ocean, where it was conducting an un- 
equal fight with Great Britain, whom it looked upon 
as a mutual enemy ; it therefore confidently expected 
from the United States the assistance it had rendered 
her in her time of need. Freneau, along with others, 
was desirous of a coalition with France ; therefore, de- 
claring himself in favor of Genet, he threw himself 
heart and soul into the projected plan of uniting the 
two republics in a bond ot brotherhood. To this plan, 
however, Washington lent a deaf ear, and finding him 
inflexible, Genet formed the audacious design of ap- 
pealing from the President to the people. 

Encouraged by his warm reception in the country. 
Genet strove to arouse sentiments of enthusiasm 
towards France, notwithstanding the refusal of the 
President; how he succeeded, the chaos into which 
he threw the country can best describe. A sort of 
insanity seemed to have taken possession of the most 
serious minds, and even in the Cabinet there were 
warm and violent discussions. Jefferson, fearing it 
impossible to preserve neutralitv considering the ill- 

[ 7<5^ ] • 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

concealed bad will of England, thought it well to 
secure a union with France, that in case of a rupture 
we might look upon her as an ally. 

Genet now audaciously empowered the French con- 
suls throughout the States to hold courts of admiralty, 
and try and condemn prizes brought to port. He 
also fitted out privateers, and commissioned officers, 
and enlisted men in the interests of France. He 
organized Jacobin clubs, and introduced the red cock- 
ade, and liberty-caps, in which Dr. Francis says he 
himself delighted as an urchin to appear; and not 
alone did urchins like him delight in them, but sedate 
men like " Robert Goodloe Harper^ appeared in the 
bonnet rouge, with grace and dignity." Liberty-poles 
crowned with red liberty-caps were also raised in the 
public places. 

The popular dislike to England now seemed deter- 
mined to assert itself All that savored of that coun- 
try was ostracized, and in proportion arose an affection 
for the struggling French republic. When the French 
officers made their appearance, or their marines were 
met in the streets, the boys would cry, " Vive la Re- 
publique ! " At night the streets were musical with 
La Marseillaise and La Carmagnole. Dr. Francis says 
that he delighted to shout the latter at the top of his 
voice while wearing the bonnet rouge. 

I have never heard that Freneau donned one of these 
caps, but the thing is not in the least improbable. 

Many French people now came from their colonies, 
and gave a new impetus to American simplicity. 
Dress, manners, and customs were a la fram^aise. 
Jewelry, ornaments, perfumes, and bonbons were of 
French designs and make. French boarding-houses 
hung out their signs, and French restaurants were all 
the style ; they introduced the use of soups, salads, 
ragouts, fricassees and olive oil ; and none but French 

1 Son-in-law to Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. 



Philip Freneau 



bread could be tolerated. Even the English dances 
were no longer in vogue, and the stately minuet gave 
way to the lively cotillon, and public fetes were organ- 
ized. " In fact, it required," as John Fanning Wat- 
son remarked, " all the prudence of Washington to 
stem the torrent of passion that flowed in favor of 
France to the prejudice of our nationality." 

Party spirit rose during this French period to such 
a degree that intimate friends became the bitterest 
enemies, and those who had formerly always exchanged 
friendly greetings now crossed the street to avoid a 
meeting. 

In the midst of all this confusion, and in the heated 
month of August, that dreadful scourge the yellow 
fever broke out, and its malignancy spread terror in 
all directions. The consternation which seized the 
already highly excited population is said to be beyond 
powers of description. Many fled from the city, and 
those who remained shut themselves up in their 
houses ; and when obliged to go into the streets they 
walked in the middle of them to avoid, as much as 
possible, the infected air of the houses ; a cold nod 
of recognition was all that friends vouchsafed to each 
other. Pedestrians carried in their hands tarred ropes 
or kept them in their pockets ; some wore bags of 
camphor on their persons ; others chewed garlic, or 
held handkerchiefs steeped in vinegar to their faces. 
In the houses either gunpowder, tobacco, nitre, or 
vinegar was kept burning, and men, women, and 
children puffed at cigars continually. The outdoor 
air was rendered lurid and heavy by the burning of 
tar and tar-barrels in every street. 

Dead bodies were constantly met with as they were 
borne to some open grave, into which they were 
dumped as quickly as possible, the graves or holes 
being left open for the next body. The bodies of 
most respectable persons were taken on the shafts of 

[ i(>(> ] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

a one-horse chaise, driven by a negro, to be dumped 
like the rest. Those fortunate enough to be taken in 
hearses were unattended, and at their sight every one 
fled in consternation. Masters sent their servants 
away on the first suspicion of the dreaded disease, and 
servants abandoned their masters ; many persons died 
from lack of care, and frequently dead bodies were 
found in the streets. This dreadful state of affairs 
lasted from the latter part of August till some time in 
September. 

Notwithstanding this terrible scourge, there was no 
mitigation of party animosity ; and Greenleaf with his 
" Argus," and Freneau with his " National Gazette," 
only increased the general consternation. 

Genet, by his imprudent measures, obliged Wash- 
ington to request his recall ; but he decided not to 
return to France, and instead become a naturalized 
citizen of the United States. He eventually married 
the daughter of Governor Clinton, the anti-Federalist 
Governor of New York State. This marriage was 
celebrated in the Walton Mansion, as we stated in a 
previous chapter. An article on Genet, which we are 
not able to place, it being a fragment written in pencil, 
but undoubtedly copied, runs : " 1 have spoken of 
Genet with severity ; he labors under reproach by 
every historian who has recorded his deeds, and by 
none is he more chastised than by Judge Marshall ; 
yet, withal, Genet possessed a kindly nature, was 
exuberant in speech, of lively parts, and surcharged 
with anecdotes. His intellectual culture was consider- 
able ; he was master of several living languages, a 
proficient in music, as well as a skilful performer. To 
remarks I made to him, touching his execution on the 
piano, he subjoined : ' I have given many hours daily 
for twelve years to this instrument, and I now reach 
some effective sounds.' He had a genius for mechan- 
ics, and after he had become an agriculturist in this 

[ r(>7 ] 



Philip Frcneau 



country, wrote on machinery and on husbandry. He 
assured me (in 1812) the time would arrive when his 
official conduct as minister would be cleared of its 
dark shades. ' To other shoulders,' said he, ' will be 
transferred the odium I now bear.' In a conversa- 
tion with him on the vicissitudes and events of the 
French Revolution, he said : ' Their leaders were 
novices ; had they been versed in Albany politics but 
for three months, we would have escaped many trials, 
and our patriotism been crowned with better results." 
It is to be regretted that the papers of Genet have not 
yet seen the light ; they embrace letters from Voltaire 
and Rousseau, and years of correspondence with emi- 
nent American statesmen, down to the close of his 
eventful life. He died at Jamaica, Long Island, in 
i8^'?4, aged seventy-one years." 

The troubles that grew out of this unhappv season 
caused a rupture between Hamilton and Jeffisrson 
that never died out, and was the origin of the two 
political parties of Federalists and Republicans, which 
were headed by their respective founders. 

Washington was greatly annoyed at the course the 
" National Gazette " had pursued throughout, and 
Hamilton attacked Jefferson for his official support of 
the troublesome editor, to which attack Jefferson replied 
that a man should not be ostracized for his political 
opinions, or for freedom of speech, and that his paper 
had saved the Constitution which was galloping tast 
into monarchv and had been stopped by no means so 
powerful as by that paper, which had checked the 
career of the monocrats. 

Towards the close of this eventful vear Jeffi^rson 
resigned his position in the Cabinet, and Frcneau re- 
tired from the editorship of the Gazette. His work 
had been o^ a prettv hot character, but it was directed 
to the end for which he had, from the first, toiled and 
struggled. Mr. Benjamin, in speaking of his effiDrts, 

[ 16S ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

has said : " Amid all the excitement and warfare of 
words which attended the adoption of the new Con- 
stitution, wc observe one figure who, next to Washing- 
ton, Jefferson, and Hamilton, appears to assume a 
prominence superior to that of all others engaged in 
the political contest, — not so much by the weight of 
his intellect, as by his versatility and vivacity, and 
the readiness and keenness of the weapons he brought 
to the warfare; and in all the history of American 
letters or of the United States press, there is no figure 
more interesting or remarkable, no career more ver- 
satile and varied than that of Philip Freneau ; his mind 
was highly original and independent, and his paper 
spoke its mind without fear or favor, and even criti- 
cised the father of his country, whom many suspected 
of monarchical tendencies. Jefferson declared that the 
paper had saved the Constitution. In the ' Gazette ' the 
administration was arraigned in bitterest terms. The 
paper was an immense political one under him. Some 
thought it all for good, others all for evil." 

It does not seem that there was any personal feel- 
ing against Freneau ; even his adversaries said : " I'he 
charges which have been brought against the editor 
of the 'National Gazette,* as he himself states them to 
be, are no otherwise personal charges than as they 
designate the person against whom they are made. In 
their application to Mr. Freneau, they affect him 
solely in his capacity of editor of a public paper which 
may justly be condemned in a public capacity and in 
relation to matters of public or national concern." 

In the American Encyclopaedia it is stated that in 
later life Freneau had admitted that Jefferson was 
the author of some violent articles against the govern- 
ment under Washington. It has also been stated that 
Freneau had made an affidavit to the same effect as 
Jefferson's letter to Washington in which he calls 
upon Heaven to witness that he had never written, 

\j6c)\ 



Philip Freneau 



suggested, nor dictated any articles against the govern- 
ment that had not borne his signature. That letter 
was dated 1792, and an article attacking Freneau's 
affidavit was also dated the same year. Freneau's affi- 
davit and Jefferson's strong denial may have covered 
the time up to which they were made, yet after that 
event Jefferson may have written articles for the paper, 
as it continued under Freneau until the end of Octo- 
ber, 1793. It is not at all probable that Freneau 
would perjure himself even to save a friend dearer 
than Jefferson. Through all Freneau's writings there 
seems to be the greatest respect and veneration for the 
name of the Almighty ; and his hatred of untruth or 
insincerity in any form is well known ; it breathes 
forth in almost every line of his poetry, and often to 
his own prejudice. He could hardly have expressed 
his open disgust of Rivington's duplicity, were he 
guilty of false swearing. 

It is pleasing to know that although Freneau bit- 
terly arraigned the government, and Washington's 
policy, there was no personal feeling between himself 
and Washington, Freneau always admired and praised 
the latter's character, and he has dedicated several 
poems to him ; he has mentioned him in highest terms 
in others.^ Even during the fierce times we have 
related there appears one headed, — 

On Washington, a Truly Good Man. 
**Justum et tenacem propositi virum." 

Freneau's daughter Agnes, Mrs. Edward Leadbeater, 
over a decade of years deceased, remembered having 
seen Washington at her father's house, and has several 

1 Some satirical verses against Washington, signed, " Jonathan Pindar," 
have been credited to Freneau, although it was proved that they were 
written by George Tucker, editor of " Blackstone's Commentaries," first 
Am. edition. These verses unfortunately appeared in the "Gazette." 
Tucker is well known as an author. 



T^he Poet of the Revolution 

times, when a child, sat upon his lap. She related an 
amusing story of an old slave in her father's family, 
named Aunt Stine, who boasted of having been ad- 
dressed by Washington upon opening the door for 
him, when calling upon her master. Mrs. Leadbeater's 
oldest child having been born in Philadelphia, she was 
returning with it to Mount Pleasant, Aunt Stine ac- 
companying her to carry the infant. They had taken 
their seats in the public coach, when the postilion 
called out that there was "a nigger inside," which was 
probably contrary to custom. Mrs. Leadbeater turned 
to her stage companions, strangers to her, and said 
that if her maid would not be allowed to ride inside 
she herself would be obliged to leave the coach, as she 
was not strong enough to carry the infant. Her com- 
panions at once expressed their perfect willingness to 
enjoy Aunt Stine's company, and the latter, trium- 
phant in her victory, turned to the postilion, and said : 
" Guess she 'd rode in better carriages than that old 
coach ; guess she had ridden in General Washing- 
ton's carriage too." In telling the story her mistress 
added, she supposed Aunt Stine had climbed into 
the General's carriage upon one of his calls upon 
her father. The same lady always resented it when 
any one spoke of her father as being an enemy of 
Washington. She said, on the contrary, he admired 
and respected him, and always spoke of him in the 
highest terms. It was only towards his policy that 
he was inimical. 

The same year as the withdrawal of Jefferson and 
Freneau from political life, saw another excitement 
before its close. George III. had given instructions 
to British privateers to seize all neutral vessels found 
trading in the French West Indies, but gave no 
notification of the fact to the United States, and 
American commerce was swept from the seas, to the 
great loss of the Government, as well as private 



Philip Freneau 



individuals. Chief-Justice Jay was sent as envoy to 
demand redress of the British Government, and made 
a treaty with Lord Granville the following year, which 
was ratified by the United States ; but it gave great 
umbrage to many Americans, as they thought too 
much had been conceded to the demands of Great 
Britain. 

Washington having refused a third nomination, 
Adams and Jefferson were nominated by the two op- 
posite parties ; Adams, having the greater number of 
votes, took the presidential oath, and Jefferson, as was 
then customary, became Vice-President. This election 
was the outcome of the question whether the United 
States should enter into intimate relations with France. 
The President refused the offers of alliance, but the 
Directorv demanded it and the American minister, 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was ordered to leave 
the country. John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry were 
directed to join Mr, Pinckney abroad, and along with 
him endeavor to adjust matters peaceably ; but the 
Directory refused to receive the ambassadors save 
upon the payment of a quarter of a million dollars 
into the treasury of France. To this demand Mr. 
Pinckney replied that the United States had millions 
for defence but not a cent for tribute ; consequently 
they were all ordered to leave the country. 

The adoption of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the first 
authorizing the President to send foreigners out of the 
country, threatened to lead to a great abuse of such 
unlimited power in the hands of one man ; and the 
second, which punished with imprisonment and fine 
the freedom oi speech of the press, savored of despot- 
ism, and caused the administration to become very 
unpopular ; so that in the following election party 
spirit ran very high. Adams and Pinckney were 
nominated bv the Federals, and Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr, Freneau's old classmate, bv the Republicans. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

The election being thrown on the House of Repre- 
sentatives, the choice fell upon Jefferson. Upon as- 
suming his position the President sent for Freneau 
to come to the capital on " important business," and 
like the philosopher of old the latter sent the verbal 
reply : " Tell Thomas Jefferson that he knows where 
Philip Freneau lives, and if he has important busi- 
ness with him,'' let him come to Philip Freneau's 
house and transact it." Jefferson then tendered 
him an office, but Freneau declined. He had no 
ambition for offices, his work was done ; he asked 
for no recompense, and he cared not for thanks ; 
he had done what he thought was his duty to his 
country, and all he asked of it was to allow him to 
live and die in peace. 

In studying the character of Thomas Jefferson, it 
would seem to be composed of two elements continu- 
ally opposed to each other, — and rather unpleasant 
ones to be united in the same person. By birth and 
education he was certainly fitted to enjoy the first 
society in America; endowed with tastes excessively 
refined for those days, and with the instincts of a 
European nobleman, he nevertheless discarded every 
advantage his birthright gave, for the sake of his con- 
viction that no man was better than his neighbor; 
and he mingled with common people as their equal. 
At an early age the head of a large family, the ruling 
mind of all he came in contact with, ceded the highest 
place in school, college, home, and society, he was, 
notwithstanding, an ardent lover of solitude. The 
cherished member of a large circle of friends, wel- 
comed from his youth at the tables of the great, con- 
sidered an ornament to the exceptionally brilliant 
society of Williamsburg (Virginia), cultivated and 
shrinking from all that savored of roughness, he 
nevertheless shocked the sensibility of others by his 
ultra simplicity. Never allowing himself to deal with 

in3\ 



Philip Freneatd 



the imagination, entering into the minutest detail of 
domestic lite, calculating to a brick the amount needed 
for a building, yet a poetic and artistic temperament 
dominated his life. Popular with companions, cour- 
teous, cheerful, and of a sanguine temperament, his 
society said to have been delightful to all classes, yet, 
in spite of himself, making many enemies. Hating 
visitors and letter-writing, he had an almost feminine 
yearning for sympathy. Strong in physical vitality, 
yet of a feminine mould of character. Sensitive and 
peculiarly vulnerable, yet sharp and caustic in disposi- 
tion. Limiting the individual powers of others, and 
believing sincerely in the opinion of the multitude, 
yet given to stretch his own powers whenever vested 
with authority. Without reverence, and even lacking 
in respect for authority, he resented it extremely when 
others resisted him. Never at ease in the atmosphere 
that surrounded him in his political life, and tortured 
by its manners, he was constantly immured in it. As 
a leader of democracy he appeared singularly out of 
place, resembling in many things the Due de Lian- 
court, and building for himself a chateau at Monti- 
cello to be above the contact with men ; yet his fears 
of a monarchy and aristocracy reached almost to fanat- 
icism ; with popular manners he never showed himself 
in a crowd. In the midst of the world he led a life 
entirely his own. 

Why such a man should have entered the arena of 
political life was as much of a puzzle as was his entire 
character. He is said to have been no orator, and 
owed nothing to personal magnetism. According to 
the received standard of greatness he certainly ranked 
among the great men. He is said to have had a 
penetrating mind, looking deeply into events, and a 
clear judgment ; he was well read in books, but better in 
mankind ; master over his passions, a philosopher, ex- 
perienced in diplomacy, a master in intrigue. He is 

\n4\ 



T'he Poet of the Revolution 

said to have been double and vindictive, and insin- 
cerity is said to have been his predominant trait. It 
may have been these latter characteristics that caused 
Freneau, while upholding him politically, to avoid him 
when the political strife was over. 



\n5\ 



Chapter Tenth 



TOWARDS the close of this stormy year, Jef- 
ferson and Freneau both retired from politi- 
cal life ; the one returning to his home at 
Monticello, Virginia, the other to the home of his 
childhood, Mount Pleasant, New Jersey, — leaving a 
seat in the Cabinet and the editorship of the " Gazette " 
vacant. The paper was discontinued, as Freneau, it 
seems, owned the press and type ; and he had them 
removed to Mount Pleasant, where he had a small 
building erected about two hundred yards from the 
house ; there he amused .himself by putting in 
print the various inspirations that visited him. It is 
said that when any incident of moment occurred, he 
would retire to the shelter of a favorite old tree, and 
indite his lyric ; and would then repair to his press, 
set up the types, and issue his production. 

He now became a contributor to the " Freeman's 
Journal," published in Philadelphia; and in 1793 pub- 
lished a translation of the travels of M. I'Abbe Robin, 
chaplain to Count Rochambeau, giving an account of 
the progress of the French army from Newport to 
Yorktown. In 1795 ^^ published a new and complete 
edition of his poems, in an octavo volum.e of four 
hundred and fifty-six pages, of which we give the 
titlepage. The fifteen stars have their significance, as 
we may see from his translation of th2 Latin verses 
dedicated to the then existing fifteen States. 

This year an almanac was ushered into existence, a 
copy of which, yellowed with use and age, is now in the 
possession of Mr. Weymer Jay Mills. It measures 
seven inches by four, and contains forty-two pages. 
On the reverse of the titlepage are the zodiacal signs ; 



POEMS 

Written between the Years 1768 & 1794 

BY 

PHILIP FRENEAU 

OF 

NEW JERSEY 



A New Edition Revised and Corrected by the 

Author, Including a considerable number of 

Pieces never before published. 



• * 

* * * 

* * * * 

¥li ^ Mfr ^ ^ 

Audax indc cohors stellis e pluribus unum 
Ardua pyramidot tollit ad astra caput. 



MO N M O U T H 

[ N. J. ] 



Printed 

At the Press of the Author, at Mount-Pleasant, near 

MIDDLETOWN-POINT, DCCXCV : and of 

American Independence 

XIX. 



r^^i [ ^77 ] 



Philip Freneau 



then follows a page devoted to eclipses, movable feasts, 
and the cardinal points ; after which is a tide-table 
with an execrable bit of — poetry ; it certainly may 
not be called rhyme : — 

THE NAMES, AND ORDER OF THE TWELVE SIGNS. 

The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins, 
And near the Crab the Lion Shines, 

The Virgin and the Scales ; 
The Scorpion, Archer and Sea-Goat, 
The man that holds the Water-Pot, 

And Fish with glittering tails. 

An article on the Planetary system follows, with an 
account of Herculaneum and Pompeii. A description 
of the Prussian armies, a history of the Ugly Club in 
Charleston, S. C, " A Philosophical Speculation," a 
dissertation on Barbers' Poles, a receipt for the de- 
struction of weevils in wheat, an article on the advan- 
tages of using oxen on farms instead of horses, a 
method of preserving peach-trees from a destructive 
species of worm, a Swedish method of breeding turkeys, 
an article on northeast storms, one on Indian corn, a 
scale of the ages of animal creation, an account of the 
Bastille of France, a remarkable imposition, and several 
anecdotes respectively of the King of Prussia, George 
Whitfield, and Dogs follow. One page is devoted 
to the apochryphal chapter of the Book of Genesis 
by Franklin, another to the calendar of the French 
republic. Some lines by a young prisoner before his 
execution, and a remarkable method of finding the 
body of a drowned person fill its pages. 



\n8\ 



THE 
MONMOUTH 

ALMANAC, 

FOR THE 

YEAR M,DCC,XCV: 



Being the third after Leap Year ; and the 
XIX*'' of American Independence 

( ' 7/7/ the Fourth of July ) 

CALCULATED /or tht MERIDIAN o/NEW JERSEY 
(Longitude 35 Minutes East from Philadelphia,) 
and Latitude of 40 Degrees, 20 Minutes North 

Number I. 

He***************-"*: 

MIDDLETOWN-POINT. 

Printed and sold by P. Freneau, near the above 
place and may be had of most of the Store-keepers 
in Monmouth and the adjacent Counties, 



Original size of almanac. 



Philip Freneau 

THE PYRAMID OF THE FIFTEEN 
AMERICAN STATES. 



* 
* * 

* * » 

■3|t #■ 'Jf ^!t 



Barbara Pyramidum fileat miracula Memphis ; ' 

Heu, male servili marmora structa manu ! 
Libera jam, ruptis, Atlantias ora, catenis, 

Jactat opus Phari marmore nobilius : 
Namque Columbiadae, facti monumenta parantes, 

Vulgarem spernunt sumere materiam ; 
Magnanimi ccelum scandunt, perituraque saxa 

Quod vincat, celsa de Jovis arce petunt. 
Audax inde cohors stellis E Pluribus Unum 

Ardua Pyramidos tollit ad astra caput. 
Ergo, Tempus edax, quamvis durissima saevo 

Saxa domas morsu, nil ibi juris habes. 
Dumque polo solitis cognata nitoribus ardent, 

Sidera fulgebit Pyramis ilia suis ! 

(Translation) 

No more let barbarous Memphis boast 

Huge structures rear'd by servile hands — 

A nation on the Atlantic coast 

Fetter'd no more in foreign bands, 

A nobler Pyramid displays. 

Than Egypt's marble e'er could raise. 

Columbia's sons, to extend the fame 

Of their bold deeds to future years. 
No marble from the quarry claim. 

But soaring to the starry spheres. 
Materials seek in Jove's blue sky 
To endure when brass and marble die ! 

1 The Latin verses were written by Mr. John Cary, formerly of Phila- 
delphia. 

\i8o\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Arriv'd among the shining host, 

Fearless, the proud invaders spoil 
From countless gems, in aether lost, 

These stars, to crown their mighty toil : 
To heaven a Pyramid they rear 
And point the summit vv^ith a star. 

Old wasteful Time! though still you gain 

Dominion o'er the brazen tower, 
On this your teeth shall gnaw in vain. 

Finding its strength beyond their power : 
While kindred stars in aether glow 
This Pyramid will shine below ! 

In the Madison papers we find a letter from Fre- 
neau, dated Monmouth, New Jersey, November 2d, 
1794, in which he requests the favor of having Mr. 
Francis Bailey appointed to the post of printer for the 
House of Representatives, — he having heard that in 
all probability such a person would be wanted. He 
assures Mr. Madison that Mr. Bailey " is an old, tried 
Republican, and has stood forth in the worst of times, 
both as a printer and soldier, a friend to the rights, 
liberties, and interests of the country. Such char- 
acters," he adds, " merit consideration ; " and he con- 
cludes his letter with some probably experimental and 
very practical advice. " Permit me to tell you that, 
in my opinion, it would be preferable that the whole 
of the work were entrusted to his care ; dividing the 
business, I never could persuade myself, answered any 
good purpose ; and if one such person as Mr. Bailey 
were made responsible for the whole, considering his 
attention and abilities, and the capital printing appara- 
tus he is furnished with, I am convinced the House 
would find their account in having the work done by 
him." 

Among the very few letters to Freneau in possession 
of the family, we find Madison's reply to his request, 
which runs as follows : — 

[181] 



Philip Freneau 



Philad% April 6, 1795. 

Dear Sir, — I delayed acknowledging your favor long 
ago rec'', until I could inform you of the prospects of Mr. 
Bailey in whose favor it was written. 1 have now the pleas- 
ure to tell you that altho' his wishes are not to be immedi- 
ately fulfilled, he is looking to obtain, under the auspices of Mr. 
Buckley and Mr. Randolph, a share of employment hereafter 
which may be very valuable to him. 1 congratulate you on the 
public intelligence just rec'' from Holland which gives joy to all 
true Republicans, and wish you all the private happiness which 
an exchange of your former troubled services for the shade & 
tranquillity of your present life can afford. Remember, however, 
that as you have not chosen any longer to labour in the field 
of politics, it will be expected by your friends that you culti- 
vate with the more industry your inheritance on Parnassus. 
With my best respects to Mrs. Freneau, I remain. Dear Sir, 
Your friend and your S., 

Js. Madison, Jr. 

It seems the old leaven yet remained in Freneau, 
and the republishing of his patriotic verses caused it 
to effervesce in the form of a diminutive production, 
printed in his own little office at Mount Pleasant. It 
was called "The Jersey Chronicle," and its first copy 
appeared on the second of May, 1795. It comprised 
eight quarto pages, seven inches by eight, and was 
headed by a quotation from the editor's favorite poet, 
Horace : — 

"Inter sylvas Academi quaerere verum," 

This journal was issued weekly, and was, as the 
editor assured his readers, " intended to review foreign 
and domestic politics of the times, and mark the gen- 
eral character of the age and country." 

During the same month in which it first saw the 
light as a complete thing, Freneau combined gratitude, 
business, and courtesy in a letter to Mr. Madison. 
The former sentiment was awakened by the appoint- 
ment of hi8 friend, Mr. Francis Bailey, to the position 

\l82\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

he had solicited Mr. Madison to interest himself in 
procuring for him; the second was to announce the 
nativity of the seven by eight ; and thirdly and lastly^ 
he congratulates him on his marriage, which had taken 
place a good part of a year before. This letter is so 
characteristic of the man that we will insert it in full. 

Monmouth, May, 20th, 1795. 

My respected friend, — By some accident your kind 
letter of April 6th was a long time in finding its way hither, 
having not come to hand till the 17th. inst. I sincerely thank 
you for the interest you have taken in Mr. Bailey — He is a 
good Republican and a worthy honest man, which qualifica- 
tions, I have thought, entitled him to some notice from the 
Government, in his line of business — I was heartily laughed 
at, however, a few weeks ago in N. York, by some Aristo- 
crats, for having in my Letter to you or Mr. Buckley, I forget 
which, extolled his Military Services in the late war. I am 
sensible he never cut off the heads of Giants or drove hosts 
before him, as some have done ; at the same time it ought to 
be remembered that he was an officer in the Pennsylvania 
Militia in the season that tried Men's Souls (as Paine says) 
and I believe never acted otherwise than became the character 
in which he acted — 

I meet you at least half way in your congratulations on the 
public intelligence received from Holland. It is but another 
step toward the advancement and completion of that great and 
Philanthropic System which I have been anticipating for many 
years, and which you as well as myself, I hope, will live to 
see realized. When I first went to reside in Philad* in 
1 79 1, 1 wished to be one of those who would have the honour 
and happiness of announcing these great events to the public 
through the medium of a newspaper. A variety of circum- 
stances however, needless to trouble you with, urged my 
departure from that city after completing a two years 
publication. — As I mean to pass the remainder of my days 
on a couple of hundred of acres of an old sandy patrimony, I 
have, by way of filling up the vacuities of time set on foot a 
small weekly newspaper calculated for the part of the country 
in which I am — Should you have any curiosity to see it I will 



Phi/ip Freneau 



forward it to you free of all expense except that of postage. 
I will not make high pronuses in regard to what it may con- 
tain. It will scarcely be expected that in a rude, barbarous 
part of the country I should calculate it for the polite taste 
of Philadelphia. — Should your fixed residence be in Philad" 
I can transmit the Papers to vou once a week by the Public 
Post, who stops every Wednesday at my door. A Letter put 
into the Post Orfice at Philadelphia on Saturday morning, will 
be sure to reach me on W^ednesday. — The public papers some 
time ago announced your marriage — I wish you all possible 
happiness with the lady whom you have chosen for your Com- 
panion through life — Mrs. Freneau joins me in the same, 
and desires me to present her best respects to your lady and 
yourself — and should you ever take an excursion to these 
parts of Jersey, we will endeavour to give Mrs. Madison and 
yourself — " if not a costly welcome, yet a kind — " 
I am, Sir, 
With Great Esteem 

Your friend and humble Serv* 

Philip Freneau. 

Freneau \y:is an original thinker ; he combined the 
quickness and brilliancy of mind of the French with 
the firmness of belief in his own opinions for which 
his Huguenot ancestors were noted; and his natural 
frankness oi disposition caused him to feel the ne- 
cessity of asserting his opinion upon all subjects ot 
importance, whether others cared for it or not. More- 
over, as he considered his opinions correct, he was 
naturally desirous of having others adopt them also. 
Not being ambitious, and asking nothing from the 
hands of his country or its representatives, he \yas 
quite indifferent to the latter, and desired only to 
serve the former; therefore, he had nothing to tear 
from either. The " Chronicle " was a spirited little 
journd, but Freneau's thoughts were ahead of the 
times, and the tact of its being carried on by one 
person, and he at some distance from the political 
centres, prevented it from being a success. Freneau's 

[ iS4 1 



The Poet of the Revolution 

business affairs were something like Horace Greeley's 
model farm, whereof it is said everything cost him 
double what he could get for it ; therefore, wearied 
of providing the public with reading matter at his 
personal expense, Freneau allowed the paper to die 
a natural death. Before we bury it, however, we 
will quote one article contained in its issue of April 
1 6, 1796. The person of whom it speaks. Captain 
Hodge, was a prisoner in the old sugar-house during 
the Revolutionary War. The article was copied from 
an English paper, and runs thus : — 

" It is with great satisfaction that we have it in our 
power to announce to the public the safety of the crew 
and troops on board the ' Aurora ' ^ transport, one of 
Admiral Christian's fleet, which has for some time 
been given up as totally lost. Her masts and rudder 
were carried away by a violent gust of wind about 
three weeks ago, and from that time she remained a 
helpless log on the water, kept afloat only by the 
manual exertions of the people at the pumps. Three 
vessels bore down to the wreck in this intermediate 
space, but did not — whether from choice or inability, 
we do not presume to say — offer her any assistance. 
On Tuesday last, being about ten leagues west of the 
Lizards, Captain Hodge of the ship ' Sedgely,' of 
Philadelphia, was so fortunate as to fall in with her, and 
without the least hesitation determined, at the hazard 
of his own life and that of his crew, to rescue these 
miserable people, one hundred and sixty in number, 
from that fate which so long had threatened them, and 
which from that time, they must have met in a few 
hours. It should be recorded to his honor that his 
humanity, aided by nautical skill, triumphed over the 
dangers that awaited his exertions in the boat ; for he 
brought the whole of them safe to his own ship, 

^ This name probably revived in Freneau tender memories of his own 
beautiful ship, the " Aurora," which, indeed, it may have been. 



Philip Frcncan 



except one man, who was literally drowned in the boat. 
The troops are Germans, and have behaved with a 
sensibility that evinces much gratitude to their de- 
liverers. They have tendered Captain Hodge one 
thousand guineas, which he has refused, saying that 
he finds sufficient remuneration in his own breast for 
the trouble he has had. One of them, on being asked 
if Captain Hodge treated them well when he had 
them on board, exclaimed : * Sir, this brave American 
does honor to his country ; he gave us all he had ; he 
is a king of men, and we are bound to kiss his feet as 
long as we live.' After the 'Aurora' had parted 
company with Admiral Christian, she had to encounter 
most dreadful weather. She soon proved so leaky 
that the pumps became useless, and it was with the 
utmost difficulty that she was kept above the water 
by all hands being employed in bailing. Such was 
the fatigue experienced by the soldiers and crew, that 
some are said to have died in consequence. They 
were all, when taken on board the American ship, 
rctluced to a very feeble state. At the time this 
friendly shin came up, the 'Aurora ' was scarcely afloat, 
and everv further effiort to prolong a painful existence 
had been given up by the people on board." 

One may imagine the real pleasure with which 
Freneau commemorated this noble act in his journal ; 
for no one was ever more willing to give praise when 
justly due than was he ; nor has any one ever more 
geiKM-ouslv brought to light, or before the eyes of 
others, any heroic or virtuous action. He did not 
wish this noble deed of his countryman to fall into 
oblivion, and for this reason we insert it here. 

After the obsequies of the Chronicle,^ Freneau paid 
a visit to his brother Peter in Charleston, in which 
city he had many friends and was greatly appreciated. 
Amongst his acquaintances there were, we learn from 

^ Tliore is :i copy of tliis paper in the N. Y. Hist. See. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

an old note-book, several with whom he was inti- 
mate. They were General Rutledge and the Pinck- 
neys. Charles Pinckney was governor of South Caro- 
lina at that time ; and Thomas had just returned from 
Spain, in which country as U. S. minister he had nego- 
tiated the treaty of lldefonso, by which the United 
States secured the free navigation of the Mississippi. 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney had returned lately 
from an unsuccessful effort, along with Elbridge Gerry 
and John Marshall, to settle matters between the 
United States and France, to which country he had 
been appointed minister. The Directory were de- 
manding an alliance with the United States, or, in lieu 
of its assistance, a quarter of a million in money, to be 
paid into their treasury, threatening war in the event of 
a refusal. It was in reply to this demand that Pin k- 
ney uttered these words that have passed into history : 
" War be it, then ! Millions for defence, but not a 
cent for tribute." 

Upon Freneau's return from Charleston in the 
latter part of December, he formed the project of a co- 
partnership with Thomas Greenleaf in his two papers, 
" The Argus," a daily publication, and the " New 
York Journal," a bi-weekly; but for some reason the 
project fell through, and he assumed instead the 
editorship of a miscellaneous paper called "The Time- 
Piece and Literary Companion." While projecting 
the co-partnership with Mr. Greenleaf, he wrote to 
Mr. Madison in regard to it; his letter is preserved 
amongst the Madison State papers, and reads as 
follows : — 

New York, December ist, 1796. 
Dear Sir, — Having three or four months since formed a 
resolution to bid adieu for a few years to some old trees in 
Jersey, under the shade of which I edited, amongst ditching 
and grubbing, a small weekly paper entitled the Jersey 
Chronicle, I did not know how to employ that interval better 



Philip Freneau 

than in striking out here, with some printer, if such could be 
found, already engaged in supporting the good old Republican 
cause. After experiencing one or two disappointments in 
accomplishing this object, I am now, through the kind aid 
of some friends here, nearly completing the project of a co- 
partnership with Thomas Greenleaf in his two papers, the 
Argus^ a daily publication, and the New York Journal^ twice 
a week; both on a pretty respectable footing, and noted for 
a steady attachment to Republican principles, though open to 
all decent speculations from any party if they choose to trans- 
mit them. In short I would wish to revive something in 
the spirit of the National Gazette, if time and circumstances 
allow, and with proper assistance hope to succeed thus, — 

A Raven once an acorn took 

From Bashan's strongest, stoutest tree ; 

He hid it near a murmuring brook, 
And liv'd another oak to see. 

As I consider the bargain the same as concluded, my next 
object is to make all the friends here that I decently can 
among men of eminence and ability. This I have in some 
small degree attempted and gained, but for want of certain 
insinuating qualities, natural enough I suppose to some men, I 
feel myself sadly at a loss to get acquainted with some charac- 
ters here to whom I could wish to be known upon motives 
of public as well as private utility. 

Among these is the Chancellor of this state, Robert R, 
Livingston, with whom, if I recollect right, you are on terms 
of intimacy. If I am not mistaken in this point, and you can 
with propriety accede to my request, you would confer a 
favor upon me by mentioning me to him in your next Letter, 
in such manner as you may think best, so that this new con- 
nexion may attract some share of his attention, and thereby 
the countenance of the Livingston family in general which 
would operate greatly through the State at least, in advancing 
our Subscription and printing Interest in general. 

With sincere wishes for your long life, health, and hap- 
piness 

I am sir, your obliged humble Servt. 

Ph. Freneau. 

ii88\ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

The " Time-Piece " made its first appearance March 
13, 1797, and was issued tri-weekly. It was in form 
a quarto, and besides editing it, Freneau was associated 
in its printing and publication. During Freneau's 
editorship of this paper he had a number of lady con- 
tributors, and his office was usually thronged with vis- 
itors, many of whom were applicants for favors of one 
kind or another, as Freneau's kind heart and generos- 
ity were universally known. One of these applicants, 
an eccentric person calling herself Deborah Grennet, 
informed him that she had served during the Revolu- 
tionary War, dressed in male attire ; and to corrobo- 
rate her story, she showed him several wounds that she 
had received. Freneau drew up a petition for her, and 
advised her to present it to Congress then sitting in 
Philadelphia. She did so, and although Freneau had 
not signed his name, his writing was immediately recog- 
nized by several of the members who were his corre- 
spondents, and by their head, who was Jefferson, then 
vice-president. The petition received immediate at- 
tention, and Deborah went on her" way rejoicing, having 
received her pension. 

In speaking of this journal, an English publisher^ 
of one of Freneau's books says : — 

" It appears at this time in America inseparable from the 
notion of a newspaper to have an opponent, and Freneau's 
great opponent in the ' Time-Piece ' was William Cobbet 
who started up a few days in advance of Freneau's paper, the 
Journal called ' The Porcupine Gazette.' If Cobbet dis- 
charged any of his porcupine quills at Freneau, it is most 
probable they were promptly returned ; for he was ' always 
as ready to return a blow with a pen as with a sword, the 
former being as sharp as the latter.' " 

The " Time-Piece " is said to have given evidence of 
Freneau's ability, and his tact in administering to the 

1 John Russell Smith, Soho Sq., London. 



Philip Freneau 



tastes of the public was shown in the skill of the selec- 
tions and the general elegance of the material. Duyc- 
kinck says of it : " As usual, his [Freneau's] part was 
well done, the Journal being well arranged, judiciously 
filled with a variety of matter, spirited and entertain- 
ing; in fact, what its title promised, — an agreeable 
companion to an intelligent reader. This at least was 
its character while in charge of Freneau." 

The press at that time was in a primitive state, like all 
other institutions. Newspapers were few, and managed 
by ambitious political chiefs ; the sheets were small and 
crowded with advertisements, — the reading matter, what 
there was of it, contributed by scholars and politicians; 
but nearly every writer was bound by a party, and many 
years were to elapse before the germs of what is now 
one of the chief glories of America acquired anything 
approximating a full freedom of thought and action.* 
But in that time of political agitation attendant upon 
Adams' term of office, people did not take much inter- 
est in literature, and Philip was ahead of the times 
in which he lived. The Alien and Sedition Acts were 
excitinor the public, and the latter seriously affected 
Freneau's freedom of thought and expression, as it 
threatened fine and imprisonment for the freedom of 
speech and the press. To live under such a restraint, 
and moreover to edit a paper, was something like har- 
nessino; the American eagle ; at least it seemed so to 
Philip; so, placing the paper in the hands of Mat- 
thew L. Davis, a promising young man, Freneau 
plumed his pinions for flight. This was his last perch 
in undertakings of this kind. 

It would seem that Freneau visited his brother in 
Charleston, S. C, and that his brother Peter bought 
and freighted a brig named " Washington " in which 
Philip, as commander, made many voyages, several 
of which were to St. Thomas, W. I., and two to 

1 Mrs. Lamb's History of New York. 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

Madeira ; and from a private memorandum in his own 
hand-writing, we find that he sailed from TenerifFe 
for Charleston in May of the year 1 804. This visit to 
TenerifFe he has commemorated in one of his poems. 
Afterwards he sailed between Savannah and the West 
Indies, and finally to Calcutta, — after which this 
bold, bird of the sea folded his wings on his native 
shore. 

On our desk lie three old volumes once in the pos- 
session of the sailor poet; two of them are works on 
navigation, the one a good-sized book, the second vol- 
ume of Robertson's " Theory and Practice of Navi- 
gation and Marine Fortifications," bearing the print 
of 1772. On its titlepage is written in large charac- 
ters the name, " Philip Freneau son livre de naviga- 
tion," and underneath, the words: "11 faut bien 
I'esperer, car sans cette consolation il n'y aurait qu'a 
mourir." Two lines of poetry have evidently been 
intentionally defaced; the first may with difficulty be 
deciphered, — 

" If God or Fate to man would give," — 

the second is undecipherable. On the back of a chart 
is written, in his peculiarly beautiful and delicate chi- 
rography, in ink paled and yellowed by time, some 
"Remarks and Observations" which run thus: — 

" The cold is greater in the southern Hemisphere than in the 
Northern, because, though in the same Latitude of each hemi- 
sphere the Position of the Sphere be the same, the Distance of 
the Earth from the Sun in the Corresponding Seasons is not equal. 
Winter happens in our hemisphere when the Earth is at its 
least Distance from the Sun and this circumstance diminishes 
the cold. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the contrary, win- 
ter happens when the Earth is at its greatest distance from the 
Sun which circumstance augments the force of the cold : add 
to this, that in the Southern Hemisphere the winter is longer 
by Eight Days than in the northern." 



Philip Freneau 



The first volume of this work is missing. Another is 
" Atkinson's Epitome of the Art of^ Navigation," an old 
print of 1749 ; on the fly-leaf of this book is writ- 
ten, in the same hand-writing, the same name and a 
" Table of the number of miles contained in a Degree 
of Longitude In each Parallel of Latitude from the 
Equator to the Pole." We notice in the extract the 
custom in those days of beginning every emphatic word 
with a capital. On the back of two charts in this book 
is written a poem, if indeed it may be classed as such, 
which has never seen the light till now, when the poor 
hand that penned it has returned to the dust. The 
writing is fast becoming illegible, therefore my readers 
will bear with me for reproducing it here : — 

THE STORM.i 

Cease, rude Boreas, blustering railer, 
List ye Landsmen all to me, 
Messmates hear a Brother Sailor 
Sing the dangers of the Sea. 
From bounding Billows first in motion. 
When the distant whirlwinds rise. 
From the tempest troubled ocean, 
Where the seas contend with skies. 

Hark ! the Boatswain hoarsely bawling, 
By topsail sheets, and halyards stand, 
Down topgallants, quick be hauling 
Down your staysails, hand, boys, hand ! 
Now it freshens, set the braces, 
Now the topsail sheets let go, 
LufF, boys, luft', don't make wr)' faces 
Up your topsails nimbly clew. 

^ Since sending the manuscript of this work to press it appears that the 
first four lines of this poem are given in Bartlett's " Familiar Quotations " 
as emanating from the pen of George A. Stevens, an English author who 
died in 1784. He published a volume of "Songs Comic and Satirical " 
in 1772, one of which was entitled "A Storm ; " it may have been this 
one, and that Freneau merely copied it. The latter never presented it as 
his own. 

{ig2\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Now all you on down beds sporting, 
Fondly locked in Beauty's arms, 
Fresh enjoyments wanton courting, 
Safe from all but love's alarms, 
Round us roars the tempest louder, 
Think what fears our minds enthral. 
Harder yet it blows, yet harder, 
Now again the Bosen calls. 

The topsail yards point to the wind, boys, 
See all clear to reef each course. 
Let the fore sheet go, don't mind, boys, 
Tho' the weather should be worse. 
Fore and aft the sprit sail yard get, 
Reef the mizzen, see all clear. 
Hands up — each preventer brace set, 
Man the fore yard, — cheer, lads, cheer ! 

Now the dreadful thunders roaring, 
Peal on peal contending clash. 
On our heads fierce rain falls pouring, 
In our eyes blue lightnings flash. 
One wide water all around us, 
All above us one black sky, 
Different deaths at once surround us. 
Hark ! what means that dreadful cry ? 

The foremast 's gone, cries every tongue out, 
O'er the Lee twelve feet 'bove deck; 
A leak beneath the chest trees sprung out, 
Call all hands to clear the wreck. 
Quick, the Lanyard cut to pieces. 
Come, my hearts, be stout and bold. 
Plumb the well, the Leak increases ; 
Four feet water in the hold. 

While o'er the ship wild waves are beating, 
We for wives or children mourn, 
Alas ! from hence there 's no retreating, 
Alas ! from hence there 's no return. 

[/J] [ ^93 ] 



Philip Freneau 

Still the Leak is gaining on us, 
Both chain pumps are choakcd below, 
Heaven have mercy here upon us. 
For only that can save us now. 

O'er the Lee beam is the Land, boys. 

Let the Guns o'erboard be thrown. 

To the pump come every hand, boys. 

See, our mizzen mast is gone ! 

The Leak we 've found, it cannot pour fast. 

We 've lightened her a foot or more. 

Up and rig a jury foremast ; 

She rights, she rights, boys, we 're off shore. 

Now, once more on joys we're thinking 
Since kind fortune saved our Lives ; 
Come the cann, boys, let 's be drinking 
To our sweethearts and our wives. 
Fill it 'up, about ship wheel it. 
Close to the lips a brimmer join. 
Where 's the tempest now, who feels it ? 
None — our danger 's drown'd in wine. 

Besides different ports mentioned, Freneau visited 
St. Croix, Guadeloupe, St. Eustatia, Cura9oa, Deme- 
rara, Cumana, and Porto Cabello. Upon his return 
from Calcutta in the year 1809, Freneau, at the age 
of fifty-seven years, settled down to the manage- 
ment, or mismanagement, of his estate, and the 
care of his little family, consisting of wife, four girls, 
and his slaves. Although he understood nothing 
whatever of farming, he took pleasure in seeing the 
work progress ; and he delighted in feeding the differ- 
ent animals, being a great lover of nature in all its 
forms. His love for dumb animals and tenderness 
of heart were such that he always managed to have 
important business to take him from home during 
slaughtering season. Mrs. Freneau gave orders to the 
blacks to have the poultry for the table killed in some 
place where he would not happen to see them in his 



The Poet of the Revolution 

walks, or hear their cries during the work of decapita- 
tion. Freneau considered his excessive sensibihty a 
weakness, and tried to conceal it, but he could never 
steel himself to witness any kind oi suffering. One 
day his little granddaughter ^ was busily occupied in 
endeavoring to capture a fly that was buzzing on the 
window-pane, but her grandfather speedily put an end 
to her sport, telling her that there was room enough in 
the world for everything that God had made. He was 
a kind and liberal master to his slaves ; the miserable 
condition of the blacks in the different ports he had 
visited had made an ineffaceable impression upon his 
mind, which was heightened by the memory of his 
own cruel captivity on the prison ship ; and it caused 
him unhappiness until he had given freedom to all his 
slaves, which event occurred some time before the 
Emancipation Act of New Jersey. After their manu- 
mission he continued to support the aged and in- 
firm amongst them. He could say with Dido, " Non 
[ignarus] mali, miseris succurrere disco." ^ 

Freneau frequently visited Philadelphia and New 
York, where his acquaintance with prominent persons 
and literary men of the times was extensive. 

In 1809 Freneau published a new collection of his 
poems which constituted a fourth issue ; these he en- 
titled " Poems Written and Published during the 
American Revolutionary War, and now Republished 
from the Original Manuscripts ; interspersed with 
Translations from the Ancients and other pieces not 
heretofore in print." The titlepage of this volume 
bears for its motto, — 

" — Justly to record the deeds of fame, 
A muse from heaven should touch the soul with flame ; 
Some powerful spirit, in superior lays, 
Should tell the conflicts of the stormy days," 

^ Mrs. Charles Townsend Harris, now living. 

' I learned from misfortune itself to succor the unfortunate. 



Philip Freneau 



An author has said these translations prove that 
Freneau had not altogether lost the early instruction 
in the classics which he had received at Nassau Hall. 
Some of these are from Ovid's " Tristia " and Lucre- 
tius. Amongst the Madison Papers is a letter from 
Freneau dated the same year : — 

Philadelphia, April 8th, 1809. 

Sir, — I do myself the pleasure to enclose to you a copy 
of Proposals for the publication of a couple of Volumes of 
Poems shortly to be put to the Press in this city. Perhaps 
some of your particular friends in Virginia may be induced 
from a view of the Proposals in your hands to subscribe their 
names. If so, please to have them forwarded to this place by 
Post, addressed to the Publisher at No. 10 North Alley, Phila- 
delphia. — Accept my congratulations on your late Election to 
the Presidency of the United States, and my hopes that your 
weight of State Affairs may receive every alleviation in the 
gratitude and esteem of the Public whom you serve in your 
truly honorable and exalted Station. 
I remain Sir, 
with the highest respect and regard, 
your humble servant 

Philip Freneau. 

Freneau to Madison?' 

Philadelphia, May 12th, 1809. 

Sir, — After a month's ramble through the States of New 
Jersey and New York, I returned to this place on Saturday 
last, and found your friendly Letter on Mr. Bailey's table, 
with the contents. There was no occasion of enclosing any 
Money, as your name was all I wanted to have placed at the 
head of the Subscription list. — I hope you will credit me 
when I say that the republication of these Poems, such as they 
are, was not a business of my own seeking or forwarding. I 
found last Winter an Edition would soon be going on at all 
events, and in contradiction to my wishes, as I had left these 
old scribblings, to float quietly down the stream of oblivion to 

^ Madison Papers, vol. xxxv. p. 17. 



The Poet of the Revolution 

their destined element the ocean of forgctfulness. However, 
I have concluded to remain here this Summer, and have them 
published in a respectable manner, and free as possible from 
the blemishes imputable to the two former Editions, over which 
I had no controul, having given my manuscripts away, and left 
them to the mercy of chance. — I am endeavouring to make 
the whole work as worthy of the public eye as circumstances 
will allow. 1500 copies are to be printed, only; but I have a 
certainty, from the present popular frenzy, that three times 
that number might soon be disposed of, — I will attend to 
what you direct on the subject, and will forward the ten you 
mention by the middle of July or sooner. — I will consider 
of what you say relative to the insertion of a piece or two in 
prose, but suspect that anything I have written in that way 
is so inferior to the Poetry, that the contrast will be injurious 
to the credit of the Publication. — I feel much in the humour 
of remaining here about two years, to amuse myself as well as 
the Public, with such matter as that of the fat man you refer 
to, and if the Public are in the same humour they shall be 
gratified. But I am intruding on your time and will add no 
more at present. — I had almost said, — 

Cum tot sustineas et tanta negotia solus 
Res Italas armis tuleris moribus omnes 
Legibus emendes, in publica commoda fecerem 
Si longo sermone mores tua tempera, Caesar. 

My best wishes. Sir, will ever await you, and in particular 
that your Presidential Career may be equally honourable, 
though less stormy than that of your predecessor. 

My best compliments and respects to Mrs. Madison, and 
remain with esteem and respect, 

Your sincere friend 

Philip Freneau. 

Madison's reply to these two letters, if they were 
preserved by Freneau, were probably consumed in the 
burning of his house ; but Freneau's third letter, prov- 
ing that there had been such, bears the date of the 
following August. 

[ ^97 J 



Philip Freneau 



Philadelphia, Aug. 7th, 1809. 
Sir, — The two volumes of Poems that in April last I en- 
gaged to have published, are finished, and will be ready for 
delivery in two or three davs. The ten Setts ^ you subscribed 
for I am rather at a loss how to have safely transmitted to you 
at your residence in Virginia, where I find by the newspapers, 
you mean to Continue until the end of September. Will you 
on receipt of this, send me a line or two informing me whether 
you would prefer having the Books put into the hands of some 
Confidential person here, to be sent, or, that they be sent to the 
Post Office at Washington \ or that they be forwarded directly 
to yourself in Orange County. The precise direction is not 
in my power. 

I am Sir, with respect and esteem, 
Your obedient humble Servt., 

Philip Freneau. 
No 80 South Front Street 
or 10 North Alley 
Philad*. 

Letter from 'Jefferson to Freneau in relation to same work? 

MoNTiCELLO, May 22, 09. 

Dear Sir, — I subscribe with pleasure to the publication 
of your volumes of poems. I anticipate the same pleasure 
from them which the perusal of those heretofore published has 
given me. I have not been able to circulate the paper because 
I have not been trom home above once or twice since my re- 
turn, and because in a countrv situation like mine, little can be 
done in that way. The inhabitants of the country are mostly 
industrious farmers employed in active life and reading little. 
They rarely buy a book of whose merit they can judge by hav- 
ing it in their hand, and are less disposed to engage for those 
yet unknown to them. I am becoming like them myself in the 
preference of the healthv and cheerful eniployment without 
doors, to the being immured within four brick walls. But 
under the shade of a tree one of your volumes will be a pleas- 
ant pocket-companion. Wishing you all possible success 
and happiness, I salute you with constant esteem and respect. 

Th. Jefferson. 

Mr. Freneau. 
1 Twenty volumes. * Jefferson Papers. Series 2, vol. 34, p. 135. 



{ig8\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Freneau to 'Jefferson} 

Philadelphia, May 27th, 1809. 

Sir, — Yesterday your Letter, dated May 2 2d, came to hand. 
— Perhaps you a little misunderstood me, when I wrote to you 
from this place in April last, inclosing the Proposal Paper, re- 
specting the Poems, — I only wished your name to be placed 
at the head of the list, and did not wish you to be at the pains 
of collecting Subscriptions, further than as any of your neigh- 
bours might choose to put down their names. — Indeed the 
whole Subscription plan was Set a going without my knowledge 
or approbation, last Winter. But as I found the matter had 
gone too far to be recalled, I thought it best to Submit, in the 
present Edition, to the course and order of things as they are 
and must be. — Sir, if there be anything like happiness in this 
our State of existence, it will be such to me, when these two 
little Volumes reach you in August ensuing, if the sentiments 
in them under the poetical Veil, amuse you but for a single 
hour. — This is the first Edition that I have in reality attended 
to, the other two having been published, in a strange way, 
while I was wandering over gloomy Seas, until embargoed by the 
necessity of the times, and now again, I fear, I am reverting 
to the folly of scribbling Verses. 

That your shade of Monticello may afford you complete 
happiness is the wish and hope of all the worthy part of man- 
kind, and my own in particular. In such the philosophers of 
antiquity preferred to pass life, or if that was not allowed, 
their declining days. 

Will you be so good as to read the enclosed Verses ? They 
were published early in March last in the Trenton True 
American Newspaper, and in the Public Advertiser, of New 
York. 

I am, Sir, with all esteem 

Your obedient humble Servant 

Philip Freneau. 

In New York City, Freneau was ever a most wel- 
come guest, at Governor Clinton's and at the resi- 
dence of Dr. Francis, who then resided in Bond Street. 

^ Jefferson Papers. Series 2, vol. 34, p. 134, 



Philip Freneau 



The latter generally had some of the literati to meet 
him there. 

Dr. Francis, in his " Reminiscences," describes Fre- 
neau as being somewhat below the medium height 
and slightly stooped, thin and muscular, with a firm 
step even in age ; his forehead he describes as being 
very high, with soft and beautiful flowing hair of an 
iron-gray color ; his eyes dark-gray, deeply set, and 
eyelids slightly drooping ; his habitual expression 
pensive, but lighting up with animation when speak- 
ing. He retained the small-clothes, long hose, 
buckled shoes, and cocked hat of the colonial period 
until his death. 

The same writer also mentions the aversion Fre- 
neau evinced to sitting for his portrait, or even having 
it taken at all. The reason for this peculiarity Dr. 
Francis could never fathom ; and Freneau never gave 
it. Although not so strikingly handsome as his 
brother, who was considered the handsomest man 
in South Carolina, Freneau was, especially in his 
younger days, considered a handsome man ; yet he 
never wished to have himself reproduced on canvas.^ 
Rembrandt Peale once waited upon him with a request 
from a body of Philadelphia gentlemen to allow his 
portrait to be taken, but he was " inexorable." At a 
dinner given by Dr. Hosack of Philadelphia, the 
artist Jarvis was concealed in the room that he might 
catch his likeness, but in some way Freneau detected 
the design and frustrated it. It was caught once in a 
parlor, and, although he acknowledged it to be a good 
picture, he compelled its destruction. The picture in 
this book was executed after his death, from sugges- 
tions of the family, and was considered by them to be 
an excellent likeness. 

Freneau, like his brother, was a man of extensive 
reading ; his mind was logical and philosophical 

* His brother Pierre had this same peculiarity. 
{200^ 



T^he Poet of the Revolution 

rather than credulous; but he was full of imagination 
and fancy, and withal clear-headed. In manners, we 
are told, he was courteous and refined ; and towards 
ladies, with whom he was a favorite, he was gallant. 
His general bearing won the admiration of all parties ; 
his knowledge of the men and events of the times 
was extensive ; and it is said that few knew as much 
about the early history of our country, the organiza- 
tion of the government, and the origin of political 
parties ; and he could enter into any topic of conver- 
sation that interested his companions. 

"With Gates he compared the achievements of 
Monmouth with those of Saratoga ; with Colonel 
Hamilton Fish he reviewed the capture of Yorktown ; 
with Dr. Mitchell he rehearsed from his own sad ex- 
perience the physical sufferings and various diseases of 
the prison ships ; and he descanted on Italian poets and 
the piscatory eclogues of Sannazarius, and doubtless 
furnished Dr. Benjamin Dewitt with data for his dis- 
sertation on the eleven thousand and five hundred 
American martyrs ; with Pintard he enjoyed Horace 
and talked of Paul Jones ; with Major Fairlie he dis- 
cussed the tactics and charity of Baron Steuben ; with 
Sylvanus Miller he compared political clubs in 1795 
with those of 18 10. He could share with Paine his 
ideal of a democracy, and with DeWitt Clinton and 
D. Calhoun debated the project of internal improve- 
ments and artificial navigation based upon the former's 
procedure of the Languedoc Canal ; with Francis 
Hopkinson he talked politics and the poets ; with 
Bishop Provost he interchanged intimate conversa- 
tion based on kindred sentiments ; and with Gulian 
C. Verplanck, Cadwallader Colden, and Dr. Francis, 
he discussed old men and old times with rare ability." 
He could relate Jefferson's account of the hasty signa- 
tures affixed to the Declaration of Independence, 
which he, Jefferson, attributed to the fact of the loca- 

\20l\ 



Philip Freneau 



tion being contiguous to a stable, and the signers wear- 
ing short clothes ; the flies, he asserted, troubled their 
long hose to such a degree as to keep them continu- 
ally switching them off with their handkerchiefs. Mr. 
Jefferson acknowledged that he affixed his signature 
as quickly as possible and beat a hasty retreat. Old 
New York was an ever interesting theme with Fre- 
neau, and his dear friend and room-mate, James Mad- 
ison, was a particularly pleasant one ; he described 
him as being of a very retiring disposition and fond 
of skating, it being his only recreation. According to 
him, Madison could never be induced to appear upon 
the stage to debate with the other students, although 
in after years his training in the House of Representa- 
tives and in the various Congresses and councils of 
state caused him to acquire a habit of self-possession 
which facilitated the use of the rich resources of his 
brilliant and discriminating mind ; and his extensive 
information caused him to become the centre of every 
assembly of which he was a member. His early se- 
clusion had the effect of giving him such a close appli- 
cation to the thread of his subject that he never 
wandered from it, but ever followed it in the purest 
and most classical language ; iind his gentleness and 
kindly expressions and manner caused even his ad- 
versaries to feel kindly disposed towards him. His 
spotless virtue never allowed calumny a momentary 
resting-place. He was the only one of Freneau's 
contemporaries that outlived him.^ 

Extremely hospitable, Freneau always warmly wel- 
comed his friends at Mount Pleasant, where he de- 
voted his declining years to reading and answering 
his numerous correspondents, and in occasionally 
penning an article for the press. He always retained 
his original frankness in expressing himself, but it was 

^ Although Madison graduated the same year with Philip, he re- 
mained another year at college. 

[ 202 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

softened down considerably as he advanced in years. 
In fact it was his pen, as some author has said, more 
than his heart that was so acrimonious in his early 
years ; no personal malice ever rested in his mind, 
and he was ever ready to pardon those who had in- 
jured him. Even his adversaries, some of whom he 
had treated pretty roughly with his pen in early days, 
in later times claimed him as a friend. In his friend- 
ships he was ardent and sincere, and they were usually 
life-long. 

Freneau lived to see his classmate Burr tried for 
treason, and finally stain his hand in the blood of his 
own old adversary, Alexander Hamilton. He saw his 
room-mate on the presidential chair, and others fiUing 
the first places in the States ; and he rejoiced in their 
honors, desiring none for himself and refusing those 
that were offered him. He saw the white sails give 
place to iron-bound steam, and the old printing- 
presses he had once manipulated moved by the 
same power. He saw his contemporaries pass away 
before him, and he laid in turn his own dear ones 
to rest. He sang the events of the second great war, 
and decked with the laurel of his song the brave and 
gallant deeds of his countrymen. He saw the flames 
consume the home of his childhood till it lay in ashes 
at his feet, and his aged hand closed the record his boy- 
ish one had commenced in the Bible of his fathers : 

" Old house at Mount Pleasant took fire Sunday afternoon 
at four o'clock, Oct. i8th 1818. It was burned to the ground 
with a large quantity of valuable property therein. Said old 
house was built in 1752 by my father." 

Freneau, like most persons of intellect, education, 
and energy, had from his earliest years of public life 
associated mostly with persons much in advance of 
him in years; consequently, as we have seen, many 
passed away before him ; which fact he sadly alludes 

\203\ 



Philip Frencau 



to in a letter to Madison dated three years before he 
saw the home of his father hiid in ashes. The 
letter refers to two volumes of poems published by 
Krcneau, comniemorating the stirring events of the 
war of 1812. In these poems, with his usual freedom 
from all sentiments of jealousy, he celebrates the naval 
actions of Hull, Porter, and Macdonough. These 
books were printed by David Longworth in 1815, 
entitled " A Collection of Poems on American Affairs 
and a Variety ot other Subjects, written between the 
years 1797 and the present time." 

Freneiiu to Madison. 

Mount Pleasant, near Middletown Point. 
Monmouth County, New Jersey, January 12th, 1815. 

Sir, — Since my last return from the Canary Islands in 
1807 to Charleston and from thence to New York, with my 
Brigantine VV^ishington, quitting the bustle and distraction of 
active life, my walks have been contined, with now and then 
a short excursion, to the neighbourhood oi the Never Sink 
hills, and under some old hereditary trees, and on some fields, 
which I well recollect for sixtv years. During the last Seven 
Years my pen could not be entirely idle, and for amusement 
only now and then I had recourse to my old habit of scrib- 
bling verses. A Bookseller in New York, Mr. Longworth, 
by some means discovered this, and has prevailed on me to 
put mv papers into his hands for publication. With some 
reluctance I consented to gratify his wish, altho' I think 
after the age of fifty, or there.ibouts, the vanity of authorship 
ought to cease, at least it has been the case with myself. 
Mr. Longworth informs me the work will be published early 
in February in two duodecimo volumes. I have directed him, 
when done, to forward a copy to yourself, ot which I beg 
your acceptance. I do not know that the Verses are of any 
superior or yer^- unusual merit, but he tells me the Town will 
have them ; and of course, have them they will, and must, 
it seems. The Work cannot be ver\' tedious, for in two small 
Volumes there will be upwards oi one hundred and thirty 

1 204 ] 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

Poems on different subjects, moral, political, or merely amus- 
ing, and not a icvj upon the events of the times since May 
1 812. However, you know a short production may some- 
times be tedious, and a long one very lively and captivating. 
None of my effusions in these Volumes much exceed two hun- 
dred lines, and several do not reach more than the fourth part 
of that number of lines. 

When I left Philadelphia, about the middle of September 
1809, the ten copies of the Revolutionary Poems, which you 
subscribed for, were put into a box well secured, and for- 
warded according to your direction, under the care of General 
Steele, then Collector of the Port of Philadelphia ; I have not 
since heard whether they reached you or not. 

That Edition was published bv Subscription merely for the 
benefit of, and to assist Mrs. Bailey, an unfortunate but deserv- 
ing widowed female, niece to General Steele, and this con- 
sideration alone induced me to pay some attention to that 
third Edition. — But, in mentioning these matters I fear I am 
intruding both on your time and patience, constantly, or 
always perpetually engaged, as you undoubtedly are, in the 
duties of your station at a stormy period, a tempestuous 
Presidency indeed ! May you weather all the conflicts of 
these mighty times, and return safe at the proper period to 
your Virginia Groves, fields, and streams : sure I am, different 
very different indeed from your long intercourse with political 
Life and the affairs of a "grumbling Hive." My best wishes 
attend Yourself, and Mrs. Madison, to whom, tho' I never 
had the pleasure of her acquaintance, I beg you to present my 
best compliments and regards. 

I remain. Sir, (I hardly need to say) 
with great esteem and respect, 
Your obedient, humble Servant, 

Philip Freneau. 
Hqjjble. James Madison, 
Washington. 

Freneau to Madison. 

New York, March 3d, 1815. 
Sir, — When I mentioned in my few lines to you, dated 
from my residence in New Jersey on the 22d of January last, 
the two Volumes of Poems publishing in this city by Mr. 



Philip Freneau 



Longworth, I did really think to have had a small box of 
them at Washington by the middle of February at farthest, 
with a particular direction of a couple of copies to Yourself 
bound in an elegant manner. Finding, however, that the 
business went on slowly here, and a little vexed to be under 
the necessity of leaving my Solitude and the wild scenes of 
nature in New Jersey for the ever execrated streets and com- 
pany of this Capital, I embarked near Sandy Hook in a snow 
storm, about the last of January, and shortly after arrived here, 
fortunately unnoticed and almost unknown. ... At my time 
of life, 63 ! ! ! abounding however m all the powers of health 
and vigour, though I consider my poetry and poems as mere 
trifles, I was seriously out of humour on my arrival here to 
see my work delayed, as well from the severity of the cold, 
which has been unremitting for more than a month past, and 
perhaps to some other causes it would not be prudent here to 
explain. 

By my incessant exertions in spurring on the indolence of 
typography, the work, such as it is, is now finished, in two 
small Volumes of about 180 pages each. — The moment they 
are out of the bookbinder's hands, Mr. Longworth will for- 
ward you a Copy, and by the first Vessel to Alexandria, George- 
town, or Washington a Box of them to his correspondents in 
these places. A Copy or two of the Revolutionary poems will 
be forwarded to your direction. I am sorry the Copies you had 
were doomed to the flames, but the author had nearly suffered 
the same fate in the year 1780. Yesterday I received from 
New Jersey a Copy of your friendly Letter of the ist. February. 
A Copy, I say, for my wife, or some one of my four Girls, 
daughters, would not forward me the original, but keep it until 
my return for fear of accidents. To-morrow morning I 
embark again for Monmouth, and among other cares, when I 
arrive at my magical grove, I shall hasten to exert all the 
poetical energy I possess, on the grand Subject of the Repulse 
of the British Army from New Orleans. There is a subject 
indeed ! far above my power, I fear. If there be anything in 
inspiration, it will be needful on such a theme. Eight hundred 
lines in Heroic Measure I mean to devote to this animating 
subject. In due time you shall hear more from me on this 
business if I am not anticipated by some one more muse be- 

[ 206 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

loved than myself. Hoping that all health and happiness may 
attend you, and that your Libraries in future may escape the 
ravages of the flames of Goths and Barbarians, 

I remain dear Sir 
Your obedt. humble servant, 

Philip Freneau. 

One more letter to Madison concludes the corre- 
spondence on the subject of the poems. 

New York, May loth, 1815. 
Sir, — Mrs. Anna Smyth, the lady of Charles Smyth 
Esquire, a respectable Citizen of this place, being to set out in 
a few days on a tour to Virginia, and expecting to be in your 
neighborhood either at Washington, or at Montpelier, does 
me the favour to take under her particular care, to put or 
transmit into your hands, the two little Volumes I mentioned 
to you in my letter last winter, and to which I received your 
friendly and obliging Answer. — Be pleased to accept them as a 
mark of my attention, respect, and esteem, in regard to your 
private as well as public character. I have written to Mr. 
Carey, in Philadelphia, a bookseller there, to forward on to 
you, if he has them, the two Volumes of the Revolutionary 
Poems published in Philadelphia in the Summer of 1809, ^"^ 
which you wished to regain, since the loss of your copies in 
the conflagration at Washington last year. I flatter myself, 
the arrangement I have made with him will replace them in 
your hand — I will only add, that any attention paid by you to 
Mrs. Smyth, I will consider as conferred on myself. 

I am, Sir, with the highest consideration. 

Your obedient humble servant, 

Philip Freneau. 
The Honorable James Madison, 
President of the United States. 

After the disastrous fire at Mount Pleasant which 
consumed the fine library mentioned in Mrs. Freneau's 
letter to her brother, Samuel Forman, and in which 
much as yet unpublished poetry of Freneau's had been 
consumed, Freneau with his wife and two unmarried 
daughters removed, that is, themselves and the clothing 

\.207\ 



Philip Freneau 



they wore, to a house which was building ; in which they 
remained up to the death of Mrs. Freneau's brother, 
when they took possession of his house, which had 
formerly belonged to Mrs. Freneau's father and had 
been the home of her childhood. Freneau lived in 
this house till his death. 

Freneau was naturally sociable, and, being a great 
walker, he frequently met his friends in the evening 
at the rooms of the circulating library of the town. 
On the evening of the eighteenth of December, 1832, 
he remained there somewhat later than usual, having 
been interested in a political discussion. The Hon. 
William L. Dayton, afterwards U. S. Minister to 
France, offered to accompany him home ; but 
Freneau persistently refused, and started alone. After 
a time a sudden snow-storm came up and hid from 
his view the lamp his wife always left burning in a 
window to light him home. It is supposed that he 
was blinded by the snow and benumbed by the in- 
tense cold, and, falling, broke his hip. He sank down 
by the side of the road, and, with the snow for his 
winding-sheet and the wild winter wind singing his 
requiem,^ the freedom-loving spirit of Philip Freneau 
passed into the presence of his Maker. 

Mr. Delancey says, " Such was the tragic end of 
one of the most original and gifted poets that America, 
up to his day, and I may say to ours, has ever pro- 
duced." 

In speaking of his death the " Monmouth Inquirer" 
says : — 

" Captain Freneau was a staunch Whig in the time of the 
Revolution, a good soldier, and a warm patriot. The produc- 
tions of his pen animated his countrymen in the dark days of 

^ They do not err 
Who say that, when a poet dies, 
Mute Nature mourns her worshipper 
And celebrates his obsequies. — Scott. 

\208'\ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

seventy six, and the effusions of his muse cheered the despond- 
ing soldier as he fought the battles of freedom ; he was the 
popular poet of the Revolution." 

His death is recorded in the old Bible by his 
daughter Agnes, and closes the Freneau record. 

" My dear father, Philip Freneau, vi^as buried, by his own 
particular request, in the Locust Grove, very near his beloved 
mother, on Friday afternoon the twenty-first of December, 
1832." 

Freneau was buried under the tree of which we 
have already spoken as being his favorite seat, and 
under whose shade he composed many. of his poems. 
His tombstone is a very simple one, of marble sur- 
mounted by a draped urn, and bears the inscription : 

" Poet's Grave. 
PHILIP FRENEAU 
died December i8th. 1832 
ae. 80 years, 11 months, and 16 days. 

" He was a native of New York, but for many years a resi- 
dent of Philadelphia and New Jersey. His upright and honest 
character is in the memory of many, and will remain when 
this inscription is no longer legible. 

" Heaven lifts its everlasting portal high, 
And bids the pure in heart behold their God." 

By his side on another tombstone we read, — 

" Sacred to the memory of Eleanor, wife of Philip Freneau, 
and daughter of Samuel and Helena Forman, who died Sep- 
tember 1st, 1850, aged 86 years 9 months and 20 days." 

The third book we have mentioned as lying on the 
desk proves that Freneau was not unmindful of his 
end, and shows his faith in God, and his deep affection 
for his loved ones. It, strangely enough, is marked 



Philip Freneau 



by the firm hand of his early youth, and the trem- 
bling one of his old age. On its inner cover it bears 
the date of his entrance to the Penolopen Latin 
School, that of his initiation into Princeton College, 
and also that of his graduation. Through it are versi- 
fied translations of different Latin verses ; and in trem- 
bling pencil-strokes of later days, the following lines 
are traced : — 

" I am growing fit, I hope, for a better world, of which the 
light of the sun is but a shadow ; for I doubt not but God's 
works here, are what come nearest to his works there ; and 
that a true relish of the beauties of nature is the most easy 
preparation and gentlest transition to an enjoyment of those of 
heaven : I 'm endeavoring to put my mind into as quiet a 
situation as I can, to be ready to receive that stroke which, I 
believe, is coming upon me, and have fully resigned myself to 
yield to it. The separation of my soul and body is what I 
could think of with less pain ; for I am sure he that made it 
will take care of it, and in whatever state he pleases it shall 
be, that state must be right. But I cannot think without tears 
of being separated from my friends, when their condition is so 
doubtful, that they may want even such assistance as mine. 
Sure, it is more merciful to take from us after death all 
memory of what we loved or pursued here : for else what a 
torment would it be to a spirit, still to love those creatures it 
is quite divided from ! Unless we suppose, that in a more 
exalted life, all that we esteemed in this imperfect state will 
affect us no more, than what we lov'd in our infancy concerns 
us now." ^ 

On the inner side of the last cover is written, — 

" Leaving the old, both worlds at once chey view 
Who stand upon the threshold of the new." 

And again, — 

" Stronger by weakness, wiser men become 
As they draw near to their eternal home." ^ 

^ Letters of Alexander Pope. * Waller. 

l2IO\ 




GRAVE OF FRENEAU 



Chapter Eleventh 

FOR reasons already given, we deem it best to 
give the criticisms of others upon the poetry 
of Freneau, and begin with the remarks of a 
London pubHsher^ who, notwithstanding Freneau's 
hostile feeling towards all that savored in the least 
of Great Britain, has had the magnanimity to over- 
look all such sentiment, and bring before the public, 
of his own free will, a reproduction of the volume of 
Freneau's poems, as published by Francis Bailey of 
Philadelphia in the year 1786. In his introduction to 
the British public he says : " It has been remarked 
with justice that, in the states which have arisen out 
of the British settlements in America, literature as a 
profession is a thing of recent growth. Till within 
the present century, it was only taken up as a matter 
of taste, and at leisure, from time to time, by those 
whose lives were absorbed in other duties and other 
pursuits, and most frequently took its character from 
temporary feelings and impulses. It hence happens 
that a good proportion of the best of the older 
American literature was temporary in its character, 
and has become more or less obsolete even in America, 
and it is only very considerable excellence that has 
preserved some of it from comparative oblivion. To 
this latter class belongs the poet whose works are 
given in the present volume, and who arrived at fame 
amidst the turbulence of the revolutionary period." 

After giving a synopsis of the poet's varied career, 
he mentions his first notable poem composed in his 

' John Russell Smith, Soho Sq., London, 1861. 

\2II] 



Philip Freneau 



sophomore year while at Nassau Hall, Princeton 
College, which, he says, is distinguished both by the 
vigor and the correctness of its versification. " His 
poetic satires against the royalists established his repu- 
tation in America, and all these show great talent ; and 
some of his severer satires, such as that on his literary 
opponent whom he addresses under the name of Mac 
Swiggin, are characterized by great power." 

As this poem gives an insight into Philip's character, 
his intense love for nature in her varied forms, his 
lack of desire for fame, yet innate knowledge of 
his own powers, did he desire to gain it, his scorn for 
all that was low or base in mankind, and his con- 
scious superiority over a rival whom he has it in the 
power of his two-edged sword to annihilate ; and fur- 
thermore as it illustrates that which we have already 
said : his being as much dreaded by a foe, as he was 
loved as a friend, we will quote some portions of it : — 

" Long have I sat on this disast'rous shore, 
And, sighing, sought to gain a passage o'er 
To Europe's towns, where, as our travellers say, 
Poets may flourish, or, perhaps they may ; 
But such abuse has from your coarse pen fell 
I think I may defer my voyage as well, 
Why should I far in search of honour roam, 
And dunces leave to triumph here at home ? 
Great Jove in wrath a spark of genius gave, 
And bade me drink the mad Pierian wave 
Hence came these rhymes, with truth ascrib'd to me. 
That swell thy little soul to jealousy : 
If thus, tormented at these flighty lays, 
You strive to blast what ne'er was meant for praise, 
How will you bear the more exalted rhyme 
By labour polish'd and matur'd by time ? 

Devoted madman ! what inspir'd thy rage, 
Who bade thy foolish muse with me engage ? 
Against a windmill would'st thou try thy might, 
Against a giant would a pigmy fight ? 

[ 212 \ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

What could thy slanderous pen with malice arm ? 

To injure him, who never did thee harm ? 

Have I from thee been urgent to attain 

The mean ideas of thy barren brain ? 

Have I been seen in borrowed clothes to shine, 

And, when detected, swear by Jove they 're mine ? 

miscreant, hostile to thine own repose, 
PVom thy own envy thy destruction flows ! 

Bless'd be our western world — its scenes conspire 
To raise a poet's fancy and his fire, 
Lo, blue-topt mountains to the skies ascend ! 
Lo, shady forests to the breezes bend ! 
See mighty streams meandering to the main ! 
See lambs and lambkins sport on every plain ! 
The spotted herds in flowery meadows see ! 
But what, ungenerous wretch, are these to thee ! 
You find no charms in all that nature yields. 
Then leave to me the grottoes and the fields : 

1 interfere not with your vast design — 
Pursue your studies, and I '11 follow mine. 
Pursue well pleas'd your theologic schemes, 
Attend professors, and correct your themes, 
Still some dull nonsense, low-bred wit invent. 
Or prove from scripture what it never meant, 

Or far through law, that land of scoundrels, stray. 

And truth disguise through all your mazy way. 

Wealth you may gain, your clients you may squeeze. 

And, by long cheating, learn to live at ease ; 

If but in Wood or Littleton well read. 

The devil shall help you to your daily bread. 

O waft me far, ye muses of the west — 
Give me your green bowers and soft seats of rest — 
Thrice happy in those dear retreats to find 
A safe retirement from all human kind — 
Though dire misfortunes every step attend. 
The muse, still social, still remains a friend — 
In solitude her converse gives delight. 
With gay poetic dreams she cheers the night. 
She aids me, shields me, bears me on her wings. 
In spite of growling whelps, to high, exalted things, 

[ 213 ] 



Philip Freneau 



Beyond the miscreants that my peace molest, 
Miscreants, with dullness and with rage opprest. 

Hail, great Mac Swiggen ! foe to honest fame, 
Patron of dunces, and thyself the same. 
You dream of conquest — tell me, how, or whence ? 
Act like a man and combat me with sense — 
This evil have I known, and known but once. 
Thus to be gall'd and slander'd by a dunce, 
Saw rage and weakness join their dastard plan 
To crush the shadow, not attack the man. 
Assist me, gods, to drive this dog of rhyme 
Back to the torments of his native clime. 
Where dullness mingles with her native earth. 
And rhymes, not worth the pang that gave them birth ! 
Where did he learn to write or talk with men — 
A senseless blockhead, with a scribbling pen — 
In vile acrostics thou may'st please the fair. 
Not less than with thy looks and powder'd hair. 
But strive no more with rhyme to daunt thy foes, 
Or, by the flame that in my bosom glows. 
The muse on thee shall her worst fury spend. 
And hemp or water thy vile being end. 

Aspers'd like me, who would not grieve and rage ! 
Who would not burn, Mac Swiggen to engage ? 
Him and his friends, a mean, designing race, 
I, singly I, must combat face to face — 
Alone I stand to meet the foul-mouth'd train. 
Assisted by no poets of the plain. 
Whose timorous Muses cannot swell their theme 
Beyond a meadow or a purling stream — 
Were not my breast impervious to despair — 
And did not Clio reign unrivall'd there, 
I must expire beneath the ungenerous host. 
And dullness triumph o'er a poet lost. 



Come on, Mac Swiggen, come — your muse is willing, 
Your prose is merry, but your verse is killing — 
Come on — attack me with your choicest rhymes, 
Sound void of sense betrays the unmeaning chimes — 



[214] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Come, league your forces ; all your wit combine, 
Your wit not equal to the bold design — 
The heaviest arms the Muse can give, I wield. 
To stretch Mac Swiggen floundering on the field, 
'Swiggen, who, aided by some spurious Muse, 
But bellows nonsense, and but writes abuse, 
'Swiggen, immortal and unfading grown. 
But by no deeds or merits of his own — 
So, when some hateful monster sees the day. 
In spirits we preserve it from decay. 
But for what end, it is not hard to guess — 
Not for its value, but its ugliness." 

1775- 

" Freneau's longest and most carefully written 
poems were : * The House of Night,' ' The Jamaica 
Funeral,' and ' The Beauties of Santa Cruz ; ' his most 
admired is ' The British Prison Ship.' 

" The influence of Freneau's wandering and un- 
settled life is visible in his literary labors, a large 
portion of which were inspired by the stirring events 
that were passing around him. For this reason, per- 
haps, he is not so well known as many other writers 
to the general reader, even in his own country ; while 
the fierce hostility to England and King George which 
the great revolutionary struggle had raised in his 
mind, and which he expresses in very unmeasured 
language, prevented his being popular among English- 
men, who, indeed, have been generally neglectful of 
the literature of America. Yet Freneau, as the * patriot 
poet,' long enjoyed a very extensive popularity among 
his own countrymen, and no doubt he deserves to 
stand among their best poets. There is an ease in his 
verse, combined with a great command of language, 
and, at the same time, a simplicity of expression and 
delicacy of handling, which makes us regret that it 
was so often employed on subjects the interest of 



Philip Frcnean 



which was of a temporary character. Many of his 
poems of a more miscellaneous character present 
beauties of no ordinary kind, while the playful or 
satirical humour oi others is perfect." 

On the evening of March thirteenth of the year 
1883, Professor James D. Murray of Princeton Col- 
lege delivered a lecture upon the poet and his poetry 
before the Long Island Historical Society in the soci- 
ety's building. In regard to his poetry, which is the 
only portion of the lecture that we shall quote in this 
chapter, he said : " Freneau was a genius in his way, 
and had brilliant instincts. Some of his poetry spmng 
from the intense flame ot oppression, and as a poet he 
blew it to a white heat. He was possessed of an im- 
petuous flow of song for freedom, and his wit was 
pungent and stinging. That he used this with effect 
can readily be seen by any person who reads his sup- 
posed interview with King George and Fox. Then 
take his exquisite dirge of the heroes of Eutaw Springs, 
his odes like ' Benedict Arnold's Departure ; ' some 
parts of them are unrivalled. His works show that 
he imitated in some degree both Gray and Shelley. 
Campbell and Scott did not hesitate to borrow from 
him. . . . His literary essays were also in this peculiar 
vein ; for instance, his ' Advice to Authors,' his ' Ora- 
tion upon Rum,' and a series of character sketches. 
His 'City Burving Places' antedates some of our 
modern sut][gestions." 

" There was no difficulty in versification with him," 
wrote Dr. Francis. " I told him what I had heard 
Jeffrey, the eminent Scotch reviewer, say of his writ- 
ings, that the time would arrive when his poetry, like 
that of Hudibras, would command a commentator like 
Grey." 

" The poetry of the revolutionary era was not of 
an exhilarating character certainly, for with the out- 
breaking of hostilities there came an outburst otherwise 

[ -'^^ ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

than tuneful of patriotic ballads, songs, and doggerel 
satires, to all of which at this distance the sounds of 
the combatants' fife and drum seems a fitting accom- 
paniment. One poet there was, however, who may 
justly be awarded that title on account of the occa- 
sional lyrics which are in pleasing contrast with the 
verses of his contemporaries ; some of which are char- 
acterized by a grace and tenderness as well as by a 
skilful versification that gives them a peculiar charm. 
Freneau wrote for a purpose, and that purpose accom- 
plished he was satisfied ; had he striven to be or become 
a poet in the best sense of the word, he might have be- 
come one, but he used his gift as a means to an end, 
occasionally solacing his moments of freedom from 
care by using his pen for his pleasure, but this was 
seldom." ^ 

"He depicts land and naval fights with much ani- 
mation and gay coloring ; and being himself a son of 
old Neptune, he is never at a loss for appropriate cir- 
cumstances and expressive diction when the scene lies 
at sea. — His martial and political ballads are free from , . 
bombast and affectation, and often have an arch simplic- 
ity in their manner that renders them very poignant and 
striking. If the ballads and songs of Dibdin have 
cheered the spirits and incited the valor of the British 
Tars, the strains of Freneau, in like manner, are cal- 
culated to impart patriotic impulses to the hearts of 
his countrymen, and their eflfect in this way should be 
taken as a test of their merit. Many of his composi- 
tions relating to persons and things now forgotten are 
no longer interesting, but he evinced more genius and 
more enthusiasm than any other poet whose powers 
were called into action during the great struggle for 
liberty, and was the most distinguished poet of our 
revolutionary period. 

" It is not to be forgotten, however, that Freneau 

i Centennial Journals, i88. 
[ 217 ] 



Philip Freneau 



had other claims to attention as a poet, than his liter- 
ary association with the events of the Revolution. 
He was essentially of a poetic mood, and had many 
traits of rare excellence in the divine art. His mind 
was warmed into admiration at the beauties of land- 
scape ; his conceptions were imaginative ; visionary 
scenes swarmed before his imagination ; and the same 
susceptibility of mind which led him to invest with 
interest the fading fortunes of the Indian, and Nature's 
prodigality in the luxurious scenery of the tropics, 
made him keenly appreciative of the humble ways 
and manners of his race. The practical Captain Fre- 
neau combined humor with fancy, and his Muse, laying 
aside what Milton termed ' her singing robes,' could 
wear with ease the garments of every-day life. The 
common, once familiar incidents and manners of his 
time will be found pleasantly reflected in many a 
quaint picture in his poems." ^ 

" The poems of Philip Freneau," if we may be al- 
lowed here to repeat our estimate of his powers from 
a sketch written some years ago, " represent his times, 
the war of wit and verse no less than of sword and 
stratagem of the Revolution ; and he superadds to 
this material a humorous simplicity peculiarly his own, 
in which he paints the life of village rustics, with their 
local manners fresh about them; of days when tavern de- 
lights were to be freely spoken of, before temperance 
societies and Maine laws were thought of; when men 
went to prison at the summons of inexorable creditors, 
and when Connecticut deacons rushed out of meeting 
to arrest and waylay the passing Sunday traveller. 
When these humours of the day were exhausted, and 
the impulses of patriotism were gratified in song, when 
he had paid his respects to Rivington and Hugh 
Gaines, he solaced himself with remoter themes : 
in the version of an ode of Horace, a visionary 

1 Giulian C. Verplanck, in Analectic Magazine. 
\2l8\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

meditation on the antiquities of America, or a sen- 
timental effusion on the loves of Sappho. These show 
the fine tact and delicate handling of Freneau, who 
deserves much more consideration in this respect from 
critics than he has received. A writer from whom the 
fastidious Campbell, in his best day, thought it worth 
while to borrow an entire line, is worth looking into. 
It is from Freneau's " Indian Burying-Ground," the 
last image of that fine visionary stanza : — 

" ' By midnight moons, o'er moistening dews, 
In vestments for the chase array'd, 
The hunter still the deer pursues. 
The hunter and the deer — a shade.' 

" Campbell has given this line a rich setting in 
* O'Conner's Child ' : — 

" ' Now on the grass-green turf he sits, 
His tassell'd horn beside him laid ; 
Now o'er the hills in chase he flits. 
The hunter and the deer a shade.^ 

" There is also a line of Sir Walter Scott which has 
its prototype in Freneau. In the introduction to the 
third canto of ' Marmion,' in the apostrophe to the 
Duke of Brunswick, we read : — 

" * Lamented chief ! — not thine the power 
To save in that presumptuous hour. 
When Prussia hurried to the field, 

Jnd snatched the spear but left the shield.* 

" In Freneau's poem on the heroes of Eutaw, we 
have this stanza : — 

" ' They saw their injur'd country's woe ; 
The flaming town, the wasted field. 
Then rush'd to meet the insulting foe ; 

They took the spear — but left the shield.' 

" An anecdote which the late Henry Brevoort was 
accustomed to relate of his visit to Scott, affords as- 



Philip Freneau 



surance that the poet was really indebted to Freneau, 
and that he would not, on a proper occasion, have 
hesitated to acknowledge the obligation. Mr. Bre- 
voort was asked by Scott respecting the authorship 
of certain verses on the battle of Eutaw, which he had 
seen in a magazine, and had by heart, and which he 
knew were American. He was told that they were 
by Freneau, when he (Scott) remarked, ' The poem is 
as fine a thing as there is of the kind in the language.' 
Scott also praised one of the Indian poems. 

" Freneau surprises us often by his neatness of exe- 
cution and skill in versification. He handles a triple- 
rhymed stanza in the octosyllabic measure particularly 
well. His appreciation of nature is tender and sym- 
pathetic, — one of the pure springs which fed the 
more boisterous current of his humour when he came 
out among men, to deal with quackery, pretence, and 
injustice. But what is, perhaps, most worthy of 
notice in Freneau is his originality, the instinct with 
which his genius marked out a path for itself in those 
days when most writers were languidly leaning upon 
the old foreign school of Pope and Dryden. He was 
not afraid of home things' and incidents. Dealing 
with facts and realities, and the life around him, 
wherever he was, his writings have still an interest 
where the vague expressions of other poets are for- 
gotten. It is not to be denied, however, that Fre- 
neau was sometimes careless. He thought and wrote 
with improvidence. His jests are sometimes misdi- 
rected ; and his verses are unequal in execution. Yet 
it is not too much to predict that, through the genuine 
nature of some of his productions, and the historic 
incidents of others, all that he wrote will yet be called 
for, and find favour in numerous editions." ^ 

" Freneau's originality was very marked. He fol- 

1 Cyclopaedia of American Literature. The remainder of this chapter 
is taken from Mr. Edward Delancey's address to the Huguenot Society. 

[ 2 20 ] 



'The Poet of the Revolution 

lowed not in the steps of Dryden, nor any other of 
the poets of the Augustan age ; nor, like his contem- 
poraries Trumbull and Barlow, in those of Young and 
Pope. Not only did he not follow classic example, 
but he struck out a style of his own. Free, clear, and 
expressive, he cast aside the trammels of the stately 
verse in which his predecessors and contemporaries 
delighted, and wrote just as he seems to have felt, and 
in whatever way he deemed most appropriate to his 
subject. Although careless in his rhymes at times, he 
was, nevertheless, always effective. 

" So long was his life that he wrote some of his 
finest poems after the advent of that brilliant galaxy 
of poets who burst forth in the early part of this 
nineteenth century. But not a trace of Moore, 
Southey, Campbell, Rogers, Scott, Wordsworth, or 
Byron, is to be found in the last two small volumes 
of^his poems which he gave to the world in 1815. 

" Freneau's prose writings were of two kinds : brief 
essays on many subjects, after the manner of the 
Spectator and the Tatler ; and travels and reports of 
an imaginary character, related and made to their 
kings by an inhabitant of Otaheite and a Creek 
Indian, after their return from civilized lands, after 
the example of Voltaire. To these may be added his 
political disquisitions and translations from French 
historical writers. The best of the former were 
written over the pen-name of * Robert Slender.' All 
are pleasing, witty, humorous, easy and agreeable, 
and show great and close power of observation. His 
political writings, action, and opinions are a most in- 
teresting theme, but they would require a full essay to 
be adequately presented. The ardor of his nature 
and the firmness of his opinions, with the vigor and 
terseness of his style, made him an adversary to be 
feared. 

" During the period of his sea life is to be ascribed 



/ 



Philip Frtncau 



some of his hnest and most perfect descriptions of 
nature, especially of nature in the tropics. Two 
poems, one styled ' The Beauties oi Santa Cruz,' 
and the other descriptive of the shores of Carolina and 
Charleston, are instinct with true poetic tire. His 
versitied translations from the Latin show how well 
his college days were spent, and how late in life he 
kept up his classic studies. No finer rendition of the 
fifteenth ode of the first book oi Horace, Nereus's 
prophecy ot the destruction ot Trov, than Freneau's 
exists ; while his translation of Grav's famous ' Ode 
written at the Grande Chartreuse,' is as striking and 
beautiful as the original itself 

" Freneau's poetry may be considered in three 
classes, — war lyrics and satires; poems on general 
subjects and descriptions ot nature ; and translations 
from the classic poets and those of Italy and France; 
with a few which do not strictly tall under either o^ 
these heads. They yary greatly in style and finish, 
some w;inting much of the latter quality. Freneau 
was natur.illy impulsive, inclined to indolence, and 
otten careless ; and his verse sometimes reflects his 
moods. He seems to h.ive written just as the inci- 
dent or event happened which tormed his theme, or 
as the idea he expressed occurred to him. Like many 
men of active intellect and quick perceptions, he lacked 
application. Content to write for the hour, and satis- 
fied if the ettect or object aimed at was secured, he 
little reiiT'irded the future of the children of his brain. 
Hence ne has left us no great narrative poem and no 
epic. 

*' His verse is wonderfiil for its ease, simplicity, 
humor, great command oi lani^uai^e, and delicacy ot 
handling. Except Drvden and Byron no poet of 
America or England has shown himself a greater 
master oi Englisn or of rhvme. The luxuriance ot 
his stanzas is something amazing. Only to the tem- 

[ 222 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

porary nature of the subjects of most of his verse, 
especially oi his satires, can be ascribed the des- 
uetude into which his poems have fallen. In vigor, 
sentiment, playfulness, and humor, manv of them 
cannot be surpassed, and their beauties of form and 
expression are as great now as when thev were first 
given to the world. 

" But Freneau possessed other and deeper poetic 
gifts. We have all wondered at and admired the 
poems of that strange son ot genius of our dav, the 
late Edgar Allan Poe. Yet the strange power of that 
extraordinary man existed also in the earlier poet. 
His 'House of Night — a Vision' prefigured the 
wondrous conceptions of the author of ' The Raven.' 
Though not at all alike, there is in the supernatural 
weirdness of each a similarity. Freneau's dreamer, 
wandering at midnight in a dark wood, comes upon a 
noble dome. Entering and ascending, he hears ' a 
hollow voice of loud lament ' from out a vaulted 
chamber, which proves to be that of Death personified 
in human form, stretched on his dying bed. He is 
attended by the castle's lord, who has just suffered a 
heavy affliction; and who, in obedience to the divine 
precept, * If thine enemy hunger feed him, if he thirst 
give him drink,' tries to assuage his sufferings, but at 
the same time tells him that his end is inevitable. 
Death gives him certain directions, orders his own 
burial, and dies in the greatest agony. Then follows 
a most vivid description of the burial. The vision 
ends ; the dreamer awakes, and the poem closes with 
some reflections on Death. 

" Another, and very different gift which Freneau 
possessed in an extraordinary degree was his power 
of invective. In this, some of his satires rival the 
* Absalom and Achitophel,' and ' English Bards and 
Scotch Reviewers ' in vigor, as well as in the torrent- 
like flow of the verse. Listen to these lines upon an 

[ 223 ] 



Philip Freneau 



opponent who had attacked him in abusive rhyme, and 
whom, under an odd name, he has immortalized : — 

" ' Hail, great Mac Swiggen,' " etc. 

As Mac Swiggen has already been served up to our 
readers we will spare them the remainder of the 
quotation. 

" This is certainly equal to Dryden," — that is, Mac 
Swiggen's eulogy, not our digression, — " yet Freneau 
wrote it when only twenty-three." 

In speaking of another of Freneau's early poems, 
one written at the age of eighteen while at Nassau 
Hall, and which we have mentioned in his college 
life, this author, after quoting several portions of it, 
says : — 

" Is not this true poetry ? Is it not extraordinary 
as the work of a youth of eighteen years? But one 
other American poet ever wrote anything to com- 
pare with it so early in life. Bryant wrote at nine- 
teen his * Thanatopsis,' and never later did he 
surpass that poem, although it contains but eighty- 
one lines. 

" Totally dissimilar as these two poets were, in 
almost every characteristic, physical and mental, Fre- 
neau being as warm as Bryant was cold, there was yet 
a singular parallelism in their literary careers. Both 
were educated men, both college graduates, Freneau of 
Princeton, Bryant of WiUiams ; both wrote as mere 
youths, and wrote then as men of twice their ages 
might be proud to write. Both studied law and then 
threw it aside. Both became hot politicians and fierce 
political writers. Both had an irresistible desire to pub- 
lish newspapers, and both became editors of their own 
papers, and editors of power. Both wrote vigorous, 
nervous, yet polished prose. Both continued to write 
poetry during their whole lives. Both were eminent as 
translators of the ancient classics. Both made purely 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

literary ventures, and both wrote satires, and bitter ones. 
Both became involved in personal conflicts. Both wrote 
strongly against slavery. Both were eminently wor- 
shippers, as well as poets of nature. Both, as their 
lives grew apace, left the press to others, and passed 
their latter days in quiet retirement. And both en- 
joyed almost the longest span of life allotted to man, 
Freneau dying in his eighty-first, and Bryant in his 
eighty-sixth year. 

" But here the parallel ends, for, unlike Bryant, 
Freneau wrote better in later life than in youth, and 
his range of subjects and kinds of verse were wider and 
more varied. Bryant possessed great application, how- 
ever, while Freneau had little. In fact the latter was 
too versatile for his own good. 

" Such was the poetry of the Huguenot patriot of 
the Revolution. Born eight years before the death of 
George the Second, and living far into the presidency 
of the seventh ruler of the United States, General 
Andrew Jackson, Philip Freneau is the only poet 
whose ringing verse roused alike the hearts and nerved 
the arms of two generations of Americans against 
England. He immortalized alike the successes of 
the Revolution and those of the war of 1812. He 
sang, with equal spirit, force, and fire, the glory of 
Trenton and the triumph of Chippewa, the conqueror 
of Yorktown and the victor of Niagara. He sang, too, 
the heroic battles of Paul Jones on the German Ocean, 
and those of Perry and McDonough on the waves of 
Erie and the waters of Champlain, and also, but in 
sadder strains, the fate of Andre and the death of 
Ross." 

We have several times mentioned the poem on 
the battle of " Eutaw Springs " and as it is, in our 
opinion, the most beautiful of all Freneau's poems 
we will close this chapter on his writings by giving 
it to our readers. 

[ ^5 ] V22S\ 



Philip Freneau 

EUTAW SPRINGS. 

At Eutaw Springs the valiant died : 

Their limbs with dust are covered o'er ; 

Weep on, ye springs, your tearful tide ; 
How many heroes are no more ! 

If in this wreck of ruin, they 

Can yet be thought to claim a tear, 

O smite thy gentle breast, and say 
The friends of freedom slumber here! 

Thou who shalt trace this bloody plain. 
If goodness rules thy generous breast. 

Sigh for the wasted rural reign ; 
Sigh for the shepherds sunk to rest ! 

Stranger, their humble graves adorn ; 

You too may fall and ask a tear : 
'T is not the beauty of the morn 

That proves the evening shall be clear. 

They saw their injured country's woe. 
The flaming town, the wasted field 

Then rushed to meet the insulting foe ; 
They took the spear but left the shield. 

Led by thy conquering standards, Greene, 
The Britons they compelled to fly ; 

None distant viewed the fatal plain. 
None grieved in such a cause to die — 

But like the Parthians, famed of old, 
Who, flying, still their arrows threw. 

These routed Britons, full as bold. 
Retreated, and retreating slew. 

Now rest in peace, our patriot band ; 

Though far from nature's limits thrown, 
We trust they find a happier land, 

A brighter Phoebus of their own. 

1786. 

\226\ 



Chapter Twelfth 



IT would seem that the name of Freneau was likely 
to die out. Philip was the only descendant of 
the American branch that had a family ; and his 
four children were all daughters. The two younger 
ones, Catherine Ledyard and Margaret, never married ; 
his eldest daughter, Helen Denise, married Mr. John 
Hammill, a merchant of New York, and had four 
daughters ; none of whom have left any descendants. 

Agnes Watson Freneau, the poet's second and 
tavorite child, is said to have been beautiful in her 
youth, and she retained much of her beauty even to 
an advanced age. She was a person of rare intelli- 
gence and refinement of taste, and possessed an active 
and vigorous temperament and a genial and sociable 
disposition. She inherited from both parents a great 
love for poetry and other literature, and like them she 
was a great reader, and a charming conversationalist. 
Her tastes were much the same as those of her father, 
which fact seemed to bind them even more closely to- 
gether, and cause them to be almost constant com- 
panions trom the time Agnes was old enough to be 
companionable to him. She frequently accompanied 
her father to New York to attend dinner and card 
parties, then greatly in vogue ; and her vivacity and 
personal attractiveness caused her to be much admired. 

But, notwithstanding Agnes' love of society, she 
was capable of deep thought, and her memory was so 
retentive that even to old age she has entertained her 
triends by reciting, at some length, passages from her 
tavorite poets that she had committed to memory in 
her young days. She also composed some creditable 
poems, but our informant says that she probably 

[227] 



Philip Freneau 



either destroyed them, or gave them away, as they 
were not found among her papers. 

In the year 1816 Agnes married Mr. Edward Lead- 
beater, a prominent merchant of New York, and grad- 
uate of Trinity College, Dublin, formerly a surgeon 
in the British army. He was a son of Dr. Henry 
Leadbeater, a prominent physician, who owned a fine 
estate near Coote Hill, County Cavan, Ireland. Dr. 
Leadbeater was physician to, as well as an intimate 
friend of. Lord Beresford, who was foremost in church 
and state. He and his son, Agnes' husband, were 
fond of fox-hunting, and kept fine hounds for the 
purpose. An old gentleman, who died within the last 
decade of years, aged ninety, remembered them well, 
and enjoyed talking of them ; he said they entertained 
the nobility a great deal.^ 

Mr. Edward Leadbeater's aunt by marriage was an 
authoress of some note, and was an intimate friend of 
Miss Maria Edgeworth. Miss Edgeworth wrote the 
preface for Mrs. Leadbeater's work, entitled " Poems 
and College Dialogues." Mrs. Leadbeater also left 
a manuscript history of the events in the family and 
neighborhood, entitled " Annals of Ballytown," which, 
with her correspondence with the mother of Archbishop 
Trench of Dublin, and also with the poet Crabbe, were 
published in two volumes by Fisher, under the title of 
^ " Leadbeater Papers." Many of the anecdotes con- 
tained in her " Annals " were gained in her frequent 
visits among the poor, in company with the wife of the 
Episcopal minister, the Rev. Mr. Pyncheon. Mrs. 
Leadbeater was a Miss Shackletoii, daughter and 
sister of the two presidents of Ballytore School, in 
which Edmund Burke first studied ; the second presi- 
dent, son of the former one, was his schoolmate and 
friend. 

^ Dr. Leadbeater had an offer of knighthood, but he declined the 
proffered courtesy. 




AGNES WATSON FRENEAU LEADBEATER 
Favorite Daughter of the Poet 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Mr. Edward Leadbeater's sister, Alicia, arrived in 
America with her husband and son, Henry, the same 
year in which her brother married Miss Freneau. 
Alicia had married Mr. Patrick O'Reilly, a merchant, 
who, in the great financial crisis attending the downfall 
of Napoleon First, had become seriously involved, and, 
meeting with little sympathy from their relatives, the 
young couple emigrated to America. Shortly after 
their arrival Mr. O'Reilly visited the island of Cuba, 
where he had relatives, but died of yellow fever almost 
immediately upon his arrival there. One of the prin- 
cipal streets of Havana is named after the family of 
the Marquis O'Reilly, formerly Governor-General of 
Louisiana when under the Spanish rule, and afterwards 
of Cuba. 

There was a little romance in the history of Alicia 
and her husband; both having drawn upon themselves 
the great displeasure of their relatives, each being the 
first to marry into the religion peculiarly obnoxious to 
their respective families. Alicia's husband was a Cath- 
olic, while she belonged to the Church of England, 
and her family let her feel the weight of their displeas- 
ure, while his were even more greatly displeased. 
That he should unite himself to a heretic, and one of 
that hated religion that had been the cause of their 
losing their extensive possessions, titles, and religious 
rights, was a crime not to be forgiven. 

The family of Alicia's husband had suffered greatly 
from the penal laws, but they were stanch in their 
faith ; their sons, for generations, had been sent abroad 
to study, and many of them preferred to settle in for- 
eign lands rather than return to a country in which 
their religion was held in opprobrium, and in which 
they had been denied their commonest rights, — the 
possessions and titles of their ancestors, which were the 
earldom of Cavan and marquisate of BrefFney. 

Two of the relatives of Alicia's husband had held 



Philip Freneau 



the archbishopric of Armagh. The one, Hugh 
O'Reilly, whose signature is even now seen on the 
manifestoes of 1741 as Hugo Armacansis, headed the 
Confederates of Kilkenny when the chiefs of Ulster 
rose in arms to contend tor their rights and religious 
liberty, and to secure the lands of their ancestors of 
which they had been despoiled by the confiscation 
called the " Plantation of Ulster," by which James the 
First seized on the hereditary possessions of the Irish 
chiefs and transferred them to his followers. 

The other, Daniel O'Reilly, was private chaplain 
to Maria Theresa, of Austria, and so won her good 
will that she used her influence with the Holy Father 
to have him, upon his desire to return to his native 
land, appointed Archbishop of Armagh. The Em- 
press, however, retained his brother Andrew in her 
service, appointing him first to the command of her 
advanced posts in northern Italy and of the fortress 
of Lecco on Lake Como. She passed him through 
all the military grades in the Austrian army save that 
of Field Marshal. Andrew signalized himself in the 
service of his adopted country, and at the battle of 
Austerlitz by his bravery and skill saved the last 
of the armv from total destruction. As Governor 
of Vienna, Count O'Reillv had the difficult task of 
capitulating honorably with Napoleon.^ 

The late Mr. Henry O'Reillv had in his possession 
a letter written on vellum from Count Andrew 
O'Reillv to his brother Daniel, after the latter's return 
to Ireland as Archbishop of Armagh." Other relics 

^ Napoleon remarked as he entered Vienna, " It is strange that on 
each occasion — in November, 1805, as on this day — on arriving in the 
Austrian capital, I find myself in treaty and in intercourse with the 
respectable General O'Reilly. It was the dragoon regiment of O'Reilly's 
command, le Troisieme Chevaux Legeres, that by their brilliant charge at 
Austerlitz saved the remnant of the Austrian army, December 2, 1805." 

2 Lord Edward Fitzgerald was related to this family. It is said that 
the White House, Washington, was modelled from his residence. The 
house of Talbot de Malahide is connected with it by marriage. 

[ 230 \ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

Mr. O'Reilly had in his possession, amongst which 
were a set of etchings to which is attached a history. 
A grand-uncle, for the great misdemeanor of acting upon 
his rights as a Catholic priest to say mass, saw, as he 
was passing through the streets carrying these etchings, 
placards being posted around tor his apprehension, to 
which a reward was attached. Thinking his best 
safety lay in flight, he started for the shore, and made 
arrangements tor his passage to a place of safety. 
During the passage, the sailors were conversing 
about the reward, and fearing they suspected him, 
the priest acknowledged his identity, and threw him- 
self upon their protection. He was not mistaken in 
his countrymen ; they landed him out of danger, with 
the etchings under his arm, and he made his way to 
Antwerp, where he became president of the university 
of that city. 

Other members of the family went to other coun- 
tries, in all of wiiich they rose to distinction. There 
is a pretty legend in the family which runneth 
thus : — 

"At the time of the invasion of Ireland by the 
Danes, Brian O'Reileigh, as the name was at that 
time spelled, of Balaraharnahan, was sent out in com- 
mand of a scouting party by the commander-in-chief 
of the Irish forces, and at the hour of noon on a very 
warm day in August stopped to rest on the margin 
of one of the enchanted lakes of Kilkenny. Enrap- 
tured with the romantic scenery and placid waters 
spread out before him, he lingered long after his 
allotted time, and the tirst thing he knew he was sur- 
rounded by a large Danish force. Remembering that 
an old fairy, a particular friend of his family, resided 
in that vicinity, he called on her for assistance. She 
appeared to him, and showed him the only way by 
which he could escape — a narrow pass through the 
mountains. 

[ 231 \ 



Philip FrcHcau 



" ' But," said she, ' if that he guarded, there is noth- 
ing lett tor you save by the strong arm.^ Fight vour 
wav throui:h, and the tairies \\-ill betriend the destiny 
ot the O'Reileighs to the latest generation.' 

" He found the pass defended by countless myriads 
of Danish spears, but he \vent through by force of the 
strong jrw, losing scarcely a man." 

It will be seen from the legend that the name has 
seen some changes from the tirst, and Henry O'Riellv 
chani^ed it yet further, as in early days, the Irish 
names not being so well known as at present, he was 
constantly called as if the ci were double i. It was to 
avoid this pronunciation that he spelled his name con- 
trary to the usual way, reversing the letters e and /. 
Probably it was for a similar reason that Philip Fre- 
neau left the letter j out of his name, as Americans 
would in all probability sound it as it was spelled, 
*"■ Fre.meau." 

Oi\ account o\ the de-ath of his tather. Mr. Edward 
Leadbeater went to Ireland to settle up the esrate, but 
finding that it would cxiuse a greater delay than he had 
anticipated, he returned to America to put his :il?iiirs 
in order for a prolonged absence ; but before he had 
succee-vied in doing so, he tell ill, and died in the spring 
of the very vear in which Philip Freneau died. His 
death is recorded on the same pasje with his marriage, 
and was the last entry made by P*hilip. His marriage 
and death read thus : — 

^^ Agnes Watson Freneau, second daughter o^ Philip Fre- 
neau and Eleanor Fomian, was married to Mr. Edward Lead- 
beater, merchant of the city of New York, Nov. 25th, 1S16, 
bv the Rev. John Croes, in the twenty-third year of her age." 

* The nime O'Reilhr in ti» Irish language sigmft<fd " strong *nn," 
ii\d the crtst of the arms of the faraihr consists of an arm and hand hold- 
ins; a sword. The anas are pncserved in the £kimly and some of the 

old plate was engniN-ed wjtii it. 

[ ^32 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

After this entry comes that of the marriage of her 
sister, who although older than Agnes, was not married 
until later. 

" Helen Denise Freneau, eldest daughter of Philip and 
Eleanor Forman Freneau, was married to Mr. John Ham mill, 
of New York, on Monday eve, Dec. 15th, 1816; both of the 
above ceremonies at Mount Pleasant, Monmouth Co., N. Y." 

" Departed this life on Friday a.m., the 28th day of March, 
Mr. Edward Leadbeater, at Mount Pleasant in the forty-eighth 
or forty-ninth vear of his age, and interred in the Locust 
Grove, at his own request, on the Sabbath day following." 

Mrs. Leadbeater had six children, the youngest of 
whom was only about six months old at the time of her 
husband's death. Her eldest daughter, Jane, was the. 
only one whose birth was recorded by Freneau in the 
old Bible : " Agnes Leadbeater, my second daughter, 
had her eldest daughter, Jane Grey Leadbeater, born 
in New York." The date is not registered. Jane 
married Dr. Sweeny, and had two children, a son and 
a daughter. Her eldest son, Philip, to whom was given 
his grandfather's surname as well as his Christian name, 
married Helen Denison, and had one daughter. Mrs. 
Leadbeater's second daughter, Euphemia Kearny, mar- 
ried Mr. Samuel Blatchford, son of Dr. Thomas Win- 
deatt Blatchford, a well-known physician of Troy, 
N. Y., and grandson of the Reverend Samuel Blatch- 
ford of Devonshire, England, who came to America in 
1795. The late Judge of the U. S. Supreme Court was 
his cousin. Mrs. Appleton Bonaparte is likewise a 
member of this family. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Blatch- 
ford have several children, one of whom is Captain 
Richard Milford Blatchford of the nth infantry,U.S.A. 

Edward Henry Leadbeater married a daughter of the 
Reverend Nehemiah Dodge. His daughter married 
Lieutenant-commander Jacob Noel, U. S. A. Mrs. 
Leadbeater's third daughter, Catherine Ledyard, mar- 



Philip hnfhdu 



ried Mr. Hdward Biddle, grandson of" Clement Biddle 
of Philadelphia, who was cousin to the celebrated 
financier, and nephew to Caprain Nicholas Biddle, — 
thev have had seven children, all living but one. The 
youngest child of Mrs. Leadbeater, whom we have men- 
tioned as bcins; only six months old at the time ot her 
father's death, married Dr. Charles Townsend Harris, 
nephew of Townsend Harris, consul-general to Japan, 
and the first American envoy to that country.^ 

Dr. Harris, after graduatincj firom the N. Y. Univer- 
sity, took a medicil course m P:iris, and afterwards 
studied chemistry in Giessen under Baron von Liebig. 
While in Paris Dr. Harris formed a pleasant acquaint- 
anceship with the Due. de Montpensier, which they 
continued bv correspondence after Dr. Harris' return 
to America. Dr. Harris is lineal descendant of Simon 
Fraser, twelfth Earl of Lovat.^ The records of this 
family now in their possession extend back to i6;i. 
Dr. Harris left two sons and two daughters. Mrs. 
Blatchford, Mrs. Biddle, and Mrs. Harris are yet 
lixnng. 

At the death of Washingto::, Mrs. Lc..v.:^i-_:ir was 
in her sixth year, but her recollection of him was \'iyid 
till within the last few years of her lite. She remem- 
bered distinctly his visiting her father's house in Phil- 
adelphia several times, and she always resented any 
allusion to her father's \yant of esteem for the first 
President, whom she admired very much. She always 
insisted upon her father's sentiments of admiration for 
General Washington's character, notwithsranding his 
former violent opposition to his |>olicy. Mrs. Lead- 
beater lived under every administration from the first 
till Cleveland's first term inclusive. Xotwithsranding 

^ Mr.Gri^.ths has puhltstwd the Utie of Townsend Hams uoder the thk 
of '* Our First Diftloaut to Japan." 

* TKere ij: a cowpkte and exhaustive record of tke Harr^ family in 
p«<epantion t^ pubaicatk!«. 

\234\ 



The Poet of the Revolution 

her great age, she retained the use of her faculties to a 
remarkable degree until a tew y<-'iirs betore her death. 
She could talk by the hour of her dearly loved father, 
and frequently entertained visitors by repeating conver- 
sations she had heard him take part in. She retained 
much of the vivacity and even freshness ot her youth- 
ful days till a late period in life. It is related of her, 
shortly after the death of the wife of her son Philip, 
that during their summer at Long Branch : The gov- 
ernor, who was a guest of the same hotel, announced 
that he would open the " hop" that evening with the 
handsomest lady there. As the hour approached, 
and none of the beauties had been bespoken, there was 
considerable wonderment as to who the unknown one 
could be. Philip was in mourning for his wife, and as 
his daughter was quite young, they did not make their 
appearance; but Mrs. Leadbeater, yielding to the 
urgent solicitations of His Excellency, entered the 
room leaning on his arm. Very lovely she looked, 
too, in her silver-gray silk and snowy crape turban, 
which rivalled her silvery curls ; and at the appearance 
of her sweet face all sentiments of former jealousy were 
allayed. She was quite unconscious of the joke, but 
when His Excellencv insisted upon her opening the 
evening, she yielded his arm to a more youthful aspir- 
ant for the honor. 

A few years before her death the exceptionally bril- 
liant faculties of Mrs. Leadbeater became clouded, 
owing partly to a serious disaster which caused two 
apoplectic strokes. During her last illness she re- 
ceived unremitting care from the members ot her 
household, which consisted of a daughter, two grand- 
daughters, and two great-grandchildren. This family 
presented the rather unusual sight of four generations 
living together.' 

1 At the present time there are living fifty-three lineal descendants of 
the puct Freneau. 

[ ^35 ] 



Philip Frcncau 



On the sixth day ot August in the year iSSS, the 
dear old lady pcacet'uUy resigned her soul into the 
hands of her Maker. She was buried in the tamilv 
vault of Dr. Charles Townsend Harris at Ocean Hill, 
Greemvood. 

Among her papers we have found an account of the 
exhumation oX the body of her father's old and valued 
friend, James Madison, the fourth President oX the 
United States.^ The account contains a moral good 
for us to learn, — the nothingness oi all that is created, 
and that God alone is great. 

^* In digging tor the foundation for the monument erected 
over the grave of President Madison the colfin was exposed to 
view. The appearance of the remains is thus described : 
* The board placed above the coAn had cecaved, but no earth 
had fallen in upon it, and evervthing appeared to be as when 
the colfin was deposited there, except that the coffin was slightlv 
out of place, allowing a partial view of the interior. As there 
was no fastening to prevent it, the pan of the lid covering the 
superior portion of the bodv was raised, and several gende- 
men present looked in upon the remains of the great Virginian. 
The coffin itself, of black walnut, was in perfect preser\ation and 
the interior was nearlv tilled with a species of moss, which ad- 
hered tenaciously to the wood. Beneath this, and partiallv 
hidden bv it were a few oi the largest and hardest bones. 
The lower iaw had fallen awav, the bones of the breast and 
ribs were gone and the onlv parts of the skeleton which re^ 
mained were the skull and ponions of the check bones, the 
vertebrae of the neck, the spine and the hirgest bone of the 
arms. All else of the upper pan of the K>iy had returned to 
the dust whence it was taken, and in a tiew years more every 
trace of the bodv will disappear,until the trump of the resurrec- 
tion shall unite the scattered panicles.' " 

Mors ultima linea rerum est. — Horace. 

^ Jimes Niadison died in the year iSjo, voA. was exhumed tw«nty-ooe 
vears after burial. 



{236\ 



THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA 

[Poem competed and recited by the poet at his graduation, ClaM of 1771.] 

yenient annis 
S^cula feris, quibui oceanut 
Vincula return laxity et ingens 
PateM teilus, Tsphitque no-vos 
Ditegat ories ; ntc fit terris 
Ultima Tbule. 

Senica, Mep. Act. III. T. 375. 

Argument. — The subject proposed — The discoverv of America by 
Columbus — A philosophical enquiry into the origin of the savages of 
America — The tirst planters from Europe — Causes of their migration to 
America — The dithcultles they encountered from the jealousy of the na- 
tives — Agriculture descanted on — Commerce and navigation — Science 
— Future prospects of British usurpation, tyranny, and devastation on this 
side of the Atlantic — The more comfortable one of Independence, Lib- 
erty, and Peace — Conclusion. 

Now shall the adventurous Muse attempt a theme 

More new, more noble, and more flush of fame 

Than all that went before — 

Now through the veil of ancient days renew 

The period fam'd when first Columbus touch'd 

These shores so long unknown — through various toils. 

Famine, and death, the hero forc'd his way. 

Thro' oceans pregnant with perpetual storms. 

And climates hostile to advent'rous man. 

But why, to prompt your tears, should we resume 

The tale of Cortez, furious chief ordain'd 

With Indian blood to dve the sands and choak, 

Fam'd Mexico, thv streams with dead ? or why 

Once more revive the tale so oft rehears'd 

Of Atabilipa, by thirst of gold, 

(All conquering motive in the human breast) 

Depriv'd of life, which not Peru's rich ore 

Nor Mexico's vast mines could then redeem .? 

Better these northern realms demand our song, 

Design'd by nature for the rural reign, 



Philip Frcncciu 



For agriculturr's toil. — No blood we shed 
For merals buried in a rockv waste. — 
Curs'd be that ore, which brutal makes our race. 
And paimpts mankind to shed a brother's blood ! 

But whence arose 
That vagrant race who love the shaJv vale. 
And choose the forest tor their dark abode ? 
For long has this perplext the sages' skill 
To investigate. — Tradition lends no aid 
To unveil this secret to the mortal eve 
li'bfx tir>tt these various nations, north and south, 
Possest these shores, or trom what countries came? — 
Whether they sprang from some primeval head 
In their own lands, like Adam in the east, — 
Yet this the sacred oracles denv. 
And reason, too, reclaims against the thought : 
For when the general deluge drown'd the world 
Where could their tribes have found security. 
Where hnd their fate, but in the ghastlv deep \ 
Unless, as others dream, some chosen few 
High on the Andes 'scap'd the general death. 
High on the Andes, wrapped in endless snow. 
Where winter in his wildest fun- reigns. 
And subtile aether scaore our life maintains. 
But here philosophers oppvxse the scheme : 
This earth, sav they, nor hills nor mountains knew 
Ere yet the universal flood prevaiPd ; 
But when the might v waters K»se aloft, 
Rous'd bv the winds, thev sh^vk their solid base. 
And, in convulsions, tore the delug'd world, 
*TiU bv the winds assuag'd again thev fell. 
And all their ragged bed expos'd to view. 
Perhaps, far wandering towaal the northern [x>le. 
The streights of Zembla, and the frozen zone. 
And where the eastern Greenland almost iv>ins 
America's north p>oint, the hardv tribes 
Of banish'd Jews, Siberians, Tartars wild 
Came over icv m>.xintains, or on floats 
First reach'd these cc^asts, hid fn>m the work! beside. - 



The Fact of the Revolution 

And yet anothtM ar>;unuMU nunc strant;r, 

Rcserv'd for men of deeper thought, and hitc. 

Presents itself to view : — In Peleg's • days, 

(So says the Hebrew seer's unerrini;; pen) 

'V his mighty mass of earth, this sohd globe 

Was cleft in twain, — " (.li\ iiled " east and west, 

\Vhile straight between, the licep Atlantic roU'd. 

And traces indisputable remain 

Of this primeval land, nmv sunk and lost. — 

The islands rising in our eastern main 

Are but small tVagments of this c«.)ntinenf. 

Whose two extremities were New Foundland 

And St. Helena. One far in the ntuth. 

Where shivering seamen view with strange surprise 

The guiding poli^star glittering o'er their heads; 

The other near the southern tropic rears 

Its head above the waves-- Hermuda's isles. 

Cape N'erd, C^anarv, Britain and the A/i>res, 

With fam'd Hiberni.i, are but broken pails 

Of some prodigious waste, which once sustain'd 

Nations and tiibes, of vanish'd memory. 

Forests and towns, and beasts of ever)- class, 

Where navies lunv exjiloie their briny way. 

l,iuiiuii-r 

Your sophistry, I'.ugenio, niakes me smile: 
The roving mind K.-^i man delights to dwell 
On hidden things, merely because they 're hid : 
He thinks his knowledge far beyond all limit, 
And boldly f.ithoms Nature's darkest haunts — 
Hut tor uncertainties, your broken isles. 
Your northern i'artars, and your wandering Jews, 
(The flimsy cobwebs of a sophist's brains) 
Hear what the voice c^'i history proclaims — 
The Carthagenians, ere the Roman yoke 
Broke their prt>ud spirits, and enslav'd them too. 
For navigation were renown'd as much 
As haughty Tyre with all her hundred fleets. 
Full many a league their vcnt'rous seamen sail'd 

* Gen. X. a 5. 

I 239 J 



Philip Freneau 



Thro' streight Gibralter, down the western shore 

Of Africa, to the Canary isles : 

By them call'd Fortunate ; so Flaccus ^ sings. 

Because eternal spring there clothes the fields 

And fruits delicious bloom throughout the year. — 

From voyaging here, this inference I draw, 

Perhaps some barque with all her numerous crew 

Falling to leeward of her destin'd port. 

Caught by the eastern Trade^ was hurried on 

Before the unceasing blast to Indian isles, 

Brazil, La Plata, or the coasts more south — 

There stranded, and unable to return, 

Forever from their nati\e skies estrang'd 

Doubtless thev made these virgin climes their own. 

And in the course of long revolving years 

A numerous progeny from these arose. 

And spread throughout the coasts — those whom we call 

Brazilians, Mexicans, Peruvians rich. 

The tribes of Chili, Patagon and those 

Who till the shores of Amazon's long stream. 

When first the power of Europe here attain'd 

Vast empires, kingdoms, cities, palaces. 

And polish'd nations stocked the fertile land. 

Who has not heard of Cuzco, Lima and 

The town of Mexico — huge cities form'd 

From Europe's architecture ; ere the arms 

Of haughty Spain disturb'd the peaceful soil. — 

But here amid this northern dark domain 

No towns were seen to rise. — No aits were here ; 

The tribes unskill'd to raise the lofty mast. 

Or force the daring prow thro' adverse waves, 

Gaz'd on the pregnant soil, and crav'd alone 

Life from the unaided genius of the ground, — 

This indicates thev were a different race ; 

From whom descended, *t is not ours to say — 

That power, no doubt, who furnish'd trees and plants, 

And animals to this vast continent. 

Spoke into being man among the rest, — 

But what a change is here ! what arts arise ! 

1 Hor. Epod. i6. 

i24o\ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

What towns and capitals ! how commerce waves 
Her gau3y flags, where silence reign'd before ! 

Acasto 

Speak, mv Eugenio, for I 'vc heard vou tell. 
The dismal story, and the cause that brought 
The first adventurers to these western shores ; 
The glorious cause that urg'd our fathers first 
To visit climes unknown, and wilder woods 
Than e'er Tartarian or Norwegian saw. 
And with fair culture to adorn a soil 
That never felt the industrious swain before. 

Eugenio 

All this long story to rehearse, would tire. 
Besides, the sun toward the west retreats. 
Nor can the noblest theme retard his speed. 
Nor loftiest verse — not that which sang the fall 
Of Trov divine, and fierce Achilles' ire. 
Yet hear a part : — bv persecution wrong'd. 
And sacerdotal rage, our fathers came 
From Europe's hostile shores, to these abodes, 
Here to enjoy a liberty in faith. 
Secure from tvrannv and base controul. 
For this thev left their country and their friends, 
And dar'd the Atlantic wave in search of peace ; 
And found new shores, and sylvan settlements. 
And men, alike unknowing and unknown. 
Hence, bv the care of each adventurous chief 
New governments (their wealth unenvied yet) 
Were form'd on libertv and virtue's plan. 
These searching out uncultivated tracts 
Conceiv'd new plans of towns, and capitals. 
And spacious provinces. — Whv should I name 
Thee, Penn, the Solon of our western lands 
Sagacious legislator, whom the world 
Admires, long dead : an infant colony^ 
Nurs'd bv thy care, now rises o'er the rest 
Like that tall pvramid in Egvpt's waste 
O'er all the neighbouring piles, they also great. 

[^^] {241 \ 



Philip Freneau 

Why should I name those heroes so well known, 

Who peopled all the rest from Canada 

To Georgia's farthest coast, West Florida, 

Or Apalachian mountains ? — Yet what streams 

Of blood were shed ! what Indian hosts were slain, 

Before the days of peace were quite restor'd ! 

Leander 

Yes, while they overturn'd the rugged soil 
And swept the forests from the shaded plain 
'Midst dangers, foes, and death, fierce Indian tribes 
With vengeful malice arm'd, and black design. 
Oft murdered, or dispers'd, these colonies — 
Encourag'd, too, by Gallia's hostile sons, 
A warlike race, who late their arms display 'd 
At Quebec, Montreal, and farthest coasts 
Of Labrador, or Cape Breton, where now 
The British standard awes the subject host. 
Here, those brave chiefs, who, lavish of their blood. 
Fought in Britannia's cause, in battle fell ! — 
What heart but mourns the untimely fate of Wolfe 
Who, dying, conquer'd ! — or what breast but beats 
To share a fate like his, and die like him ! 

Acasto 

But why alone commemorate the dead. 

And pass those glorious heroes by, who yet 

Breathe the same air, and see the light with us ? — 

The dead, Leander, are but empty names. 

And they who fall to-day the same to us. 

As they who fell ten centuries ago ! — 

Lost are they all, that shin'd on earth before ; 

Rome's boldest champions in the dust are laid, 

Ajax and great Achilles are no more. 

And Philip's warlike son, an empty shade ! — 

A Washington among our sons of fame 

We boast conspicuous as the morning star 

Among the inferior lights — 

To distant wilds Virginia sent him forth — 

With her brave sons he gallantly oppos'd 



The Poet of the Revolution 

The bold invaders of his country's rights, 
Where wild Ohio pours the mazy flood. 
And mighty meadows skirt his subject streams. — 
But now, delighting in his elm tree's shade. 
Where deep Potowmac laves the enchanting shore. 
He prunes the tender vine, or bids the soil 
Luxuriant harvests to the sun display. — 
Behold a different scene — not thus employ'd 
Were Cortez, and Pizarro, pride of Spain, 
Whom blood and murder only satisfy'd. 
And all to glut their avarice and ambition ! — 

Eugenia 

Such is the curse, Acasto, where the soul 

Humane is wanting — but we boast no feats 

Of cruelty like Europe's murdering breed — 

Our milder epithet is merciful. 

And each American, true hearted, learns 

To conquer, and to spare ; for coward souls 

Alone seek vengeance on a vanquish'd foe. 

Gold, fatal gold, was the alluring bait. 

To Spain's rapacious tribes — hence rose the wars 

From Chili to the Caribbean Sea, 

And Montezuma's Mexican domains : 

More blest are we, with whose unenvied soil 

Nature decreed no mingling gold to shine, 

No flaming diamond, precious emerald. 

No blushing sapphire, ruby, chrysolite. 

Or jasper red — more noble riches flow 

From agriculture, and the industrious swain, 

Who tills the fertile vale, or mountain's brow, 

Content to lead a safe, a humble life. 

Among his native hills, romantic shades 

Such as the muse of Greece of old did feign, 

Allur'd the Olympian gods from chrystal skies, 

Envying such lovely scenes to mortal man. 

Leander 

Long has the rural life been justly fam'd. 
And bards of old their pleasing pictures drew 

[ 243 ] 



Philip Freneau 



Of flowery meads, and groves, and gliding streams ; 

Hence, old Arcadia — wood-nymphs, satyrs, fauns, 

And hence Elysium, fancied heaven below ! — 

Fair agriculture, not unworthy kings. 

Once exercis'd the royal hand, or those 

Whose virtue rais'd them to the rank of gods ! 

See, old Laertes ^ in his shepherd weeds 

Far from his pompous throne and court august, 

Di^cine: the grateful soil, where round him rise 

Sons of the earth, the tall aspiring oaks. 

Or orchards, boasting of more fertile boughs, 

Laden with apples red, sweet scented peach. 

Pear, cherrv, apricot, or spongv plumb ; 

While throuirh the glebe the industrious oxen draw 

O D 

The earth-inverting plough, — Those Romans too, 

Fabricius and Camillus, lov'd a life 

Of neat simplicitv and rustic bliss, 

And from the noisv Forum hastening far. 

From busy camps, and sycophants, and crowns, 

'Midst woods and fields spent the remains of life, 

Where full enjovment still awaits the wise. 

How grateful, to behold the harvests rise. 

And mightv crops adorn the extended plains ! 

Fair plentv smiles throughout, while lowing herds 

Stalk o'er the shrubby hill or grassy mead. 

Or at some shallow river slake their thirst. — 

The inclosure, now, succeeds the shepherd's care. 

Yet milk-white flocks adorn the well stock'd farm. 

And court the attention of the industrious swain — 

Their fleece rewards him well ; and when the winds 

Blow with a keener blast, and from the north 

Pour mingled tempests through a sunless sky 

(Ice, sleet, and rattling hail) secure he sits 

Warm in his cottage, fearless of the storm. 

Enjoying now the toils of milder moons. 

Yet hoping for the spring. — Such are the joys. 

And such the toils of those whom hea\en hath bless'd 

With souls enamour'd of a country life. 

^ Horn. Odyss. lib. 14. 



\244\ 



T'he Poet of the Revolution 



Acaito 



Such are the visions of the rustic reign — 

But this alone, the fountain of support, 

Would scarce employ the varying mind ot man; 

Each seeks employ, and each a different way : 

Strip Commerce of her sail, and men once more 

Would be converted into savages — 

No nation e'er grew social and refin d 

nrill Commerce first had wing'd the adventurous prow, 

Or sent the slow-pac'd caravan, atar. 

To waft their produce to some other clime. 

And bring the wish'd exchange -thus came, of old, 

Golconda's golden ore, and thus the wealth 

Of Ophir, to the wisest ot mankind. 

Eugen'to 

Great is the praise of Commerce, and the men 

Deserve our praise, who spread the undaunted sail. 

And traverse every sea — their dangers great. 

Death still to combat in the unfeeling gale. 

And every billow but a gaping grave i — 

There, skies and waters, wearying on the eye. 

For weeks and months no other prospect yield 

But barren wastes, unfathom'd depths, where not 

The blissful haunt of human form is seen 

To cheer the unsocial horrors of the way — 

Yet all these bold designs to science owe 

Their rise and glory - Hail, fair Science ! thou. 

Transplanted from the eastern skies, dost bloom 

In these blest regions — Greece and Rome no more 

Detain the Muses on Cithaeron's brow. 

Or old Olympus, crown'd with waving woods. 

Or Haemus' top, where once was heard the harp. 

Sweet Orpheus' harp, that gain'd his cause below. 

And pierc'd the heart of Orcus and his bride ; 

That hush'd to silence by its voice divine 

Thy melancholy waters, and the gales, 

O Hebras ! that o'er thy sad surface blow. — 

No more the maids round Alpheus' waters stray. 

Where he with Arethusa's stream doth mix. 



Philip Freneau 

Or where swift Tiber disembogues his waves 

Into the Italian sea, so long unsung; 

Hither they wing their way, the last, the best 

Of countries, where the arts shall rise and grow, 

And arms shall have their day — even now we boast 

A Franklin, prince of all philosophy, 

A genius piercing as the electric tire. 

Bright as the lightning's flash, explain'd so well 

By him the rival of Britannia's sage. — ^ 

This is the land of every joyous sound 

Of liberty and life, sweet liberty ! 

Without whose aid the noblest genius fails, 

And science irretrievably must die. 

Leander 

But come, Eugenio, since we know the past — 

What hinders to pervade with searching eye 

The mystic scenes of dark futurity ! 

Say, shall we ask what empires yet must rise, 

What kingdoms, powers and states, where now are seen 

Mere dreary wastes and awful solitude, 

Where Melancholy sits, with eye forlorn. 

And time anticipates, when we shall spread 

Dominion from the north, and south, and west. 

Far from the Atlantic to Pacific shores. 

And shackle half the convex oi the main ! — 

A glorious theme ! — but how shall mortals dare 

To pierce the dark events of future years, 

And scenes unravel, only known to fate.? 

Acasto 

This might we do, if warm'd by that bright coal 
Snatch'd from the altar of cherubic fire. 
Which touch'd Isaiah's lips — or if the spirit 
Of Jeremy and Amos, prophets old. 
Might swell the heaving breast — I see, I see 
Freedom's establish'd reign ; cities, and men, 
Numerous as sands upon the ocean shore. 
And empires rising where the sun descends ! — 

1 Newton. 

L 246 \ 



"The Poet of the Revolution 

The Ohio soon shall glide by many a town 
Of note, and where the Mississippi stream, 
By forest shaded, now runs weeping on, 
Nations shall grow, and states, not less in fame 
Than Greece and Rome of old ! — we too shall boast 
Our Scipios, Solons, Catos, sages, chiefs. 
That in the womb of time yet dormant lie. 
Waiting the joyous hour of life and light. 
O snatch me hence, ye muses, to those days 
When through the veil of dark antiquity 
Our sons shall hear of us as things remote. 
That blossom'd in the morn of days — Alas ! 
How could I weep that we were born so soon. 
Just in the dawning of these mighty times. 
Whose scenes are panting for eternity ! 
Dissensions that shall swell the trump of fame. 
And ruin brooding o'er all monarchy ! 

Eugenio 

Nor shall these angry tumults here subside 

Nor murders ^ cease, through all these provinces. 

Till foreign crowns have vanish'd from our view 

And dazzle here no more — no more presume 

To awe the spirit of fair Liberty — 

Vengeance shall cut the thread — and Britain, sure. 

Will curse her fatal obstinacy for it ! 

Bent on the ruin of this injur'd country. 

She will not listen to our humble prayers. 

Though offer'd with submission : 

Like vagabonds, and objects of destruction. 

Like those whom all mankind are sworn to hate, 

She casts us off from her protection. 

And will invite the" nations round about, 

Russians and Germans, slaves and savages. 

To come and have a share in our perdition — 

O cruel race, O unrelenting Britain, 

Who bloody beasts will hire to cut our throats. 

Who war will wage with prattling innocence, 

1 The massacre at Boston, March 5, 1770, is here more particularly 
glanced at. 



Philip Freneau 

And basely murder unoft'ending women ! — 
Will stab their prisoners when they cry for quarter, 
Will burn our towns, and from his lodging turn 
The poor inhabitant to sleep in tempests ! — 
These will be wrongs, indeed, and all sufficient 
To kindle up our souls to deeds of horror, 
And give to every arm the nerves of Samson 
These are the men that fill the world with ruin. 
And every region mourns their greedy sway — 
Nor only for ambition. 
But what are this world's goods, that they for them 
Should exercise perpetual butchery ? 
What are these mighty riches we possess. 
That they should send so far to plunder them? — 
Already have we felt their potent arm — 
And ever since that inauspicious day. 
When first Sir Francis Bernard 
His cannons planted at the council door. 
And made the assembly room a home for strumpets, 
And soldiers rank and file — e'er since that day 
This wretched land, that drinks its children's gore, 
Has been a scene of tumult and confusion ! — 
Are there not evils in the world enough? 
Are we so happy that they envy us ? 
Have we not toil'd to satisfy their harpies. 
King's deputies, that are insatiable ; 
Whose practice is to incense the royal mind 
And make us despicable in his view ? 
Have we not all the evils to contend with 
That, in this life, mankind are subject to. 
Pain, sickness, poverty and natural death — 
But into everv wound that nature gave 
They will a dagger plunge, and make them mortal ! 

Leander 

Enough, enough — such dismal scenes you paint, 
I almost shudder at the recollection — 
What, are they dogs that they would mangle us ? — 
Are these the men that come with base design 
To rob the hive, and kill the industrious bee ! -=— 

[ 248 ] 



The Poet of the Revolution 

To brighter skies I turn my ravish'd view, 
And fairer prospects from the future draw — 
Here independent power shall hold her sway, 
And public virtue warm the patriot breast : 
No traces shall remain of tyranny. 
And laws, a pattern to the world beside, 
Be here enacted first. 



Acasto 

And when a train of rolling years are past, 
(So sung the exil'd seer in Patmos isle) 
A new Jerusalem, sent down from heaven. 
Shall grace our happy earth — perhaps this land, 
Whose ample breast shall then receive, tho' late, 
Myriads of saints, with their immortal king. 
To live and reign on earth a thousand years. 
Thence called Millennium. Paradise anew 
Shall flourish, by no second Adam lost. 
No dangerous tree with deadly fruit shall grow. 
No tempting serpent to allure the soul 
From native innocence. — A Canaan here. 
Another Canaan shall excel the old. 
And from a fairer Pisgah's top be seen. 
No thistle here, nor thorn nor briar shall spring. 
Earth's curse before : the lion and the lamb. 
In mutual friendship link'd, shall browse the shrub. 
And timorous deer with softened tygers stray 
O'er mead, or lofty hill, or grassy plain : 
Another Jordan's stream shall glide along. 
And Siloah's brook in circling eddies flow : 
Groves shall adorn their verdant banks, on which 
The happy people, free from toils and death. 
Shall find secure repose. No fierce disease. 
No fevers, slow consumption, ghastly plague, 
(Fate's ancient ministers) again proclaim 
Perpetual war with man : fair fruits shall bloom, 
Fair to the eye, and grateful to the taste ; 
Nature's loud storms be hush'd, and seas no more 
Rage hostile to mankind — and, worse than all. 
The fiercer passions of the human breast 



Philip Breneau 



Shall kindle up to deeds of death no more, 
But all subside in universal peace — 

Such days the world, 
And such, America, thou first shalt have. 
When ages, yet to come, have run their round. 
And future years of bliss alone remain. 
1771. 



\250\ 



Appendix 



Appendix 



[See page 6\ 
" ^'"^ N a exagere infiniment le nombre des huguenots qui 
■ ■ sortirent du royaume a cette occasion, et cela devoit 
^^__^^ etre ainsi. Comme les interesses sont les seuls qui 
parlent et qui crient, ils affirment tout ce qui leur 
plait. Un ministre qui voyoit son troupeau disperse publioit 
qu'il avoit passe chez I'etranger. Un chef de manufacture 
qui avoit perdu deux ouvriers faisoit son calcul comme si tous 
les fabricans du royaume avoient fait la meme perte que lui. 
Dix ouvriers sortis d'une ville ou ils avoient leurs connois- 
sances et leurs amis faisoient croire, par le bruit de leur fuite, 
que la ville alloit manquer de bras pour tous les ateliers. Ce 
qu'il y a de surprenant, c'est que plusieurs maitres des re- 
quetes, dans les instructions qu'ils m'adresserent sur leurs 
generalites, adopterent ces bruits populaires, et annoncerent 
par la combien ils etoient peu instruits de ce qui devoit les 
occuper ; aussi leur rapport se trouva-t-il contredit par d'autres, 
et demontre faux par la verification faite en plusieurs endroits. 
Ouand le nombre des huguenots qui sortirent de France a 
cette epoque monteroit, suivant le calcul le plus exagere, a 
soixante-sept mille sept cent trente-deux personnes, il ne 
devoit pas se trouver parmi ce nombre, qui comprenoit tous 
les ages et tous les sexes, assez d'hommes utiles pour laisser 
un grand vide dans les campagnes et dans les ateliers, et 
influer sur le royaume entier. II est certain d'ailleurs que 
ce vide ne dut jamais etre plus sensible qu'au moment oii 
il se fit. On ne s'en aper^ut pas alors, et Ton s'en plaint 
aujourd'hui ! II faut done en chercher une autre cause : elle 
existe en effet, et, si on veut le savoir, c'est la guerre. Quant 
a la retraite des huguenots, elle couta moins d'hommes utiles a 
I'Etat, que ne lui en enlevoit une seule annee de guerre 
civile." 1 

^ Vie du Due de Bourgogne, tome il. p. io8. 

l253'\ 



Philip Freneau 



\_See page 6\ 

" S'il falloit ecouter certains declamateurs, on croirait que 
les richesses et la prosperite avoient fui la France avec les pro- 
testans refugies ; et cependant, je le demande, le commerce et 
I'industrie ont-ils cesse de prendre des accroissemens ? Dans 
le cours du dix-huitieme siecle, n'a-t-on pas vu se multiplier 
de toutes parts les etofFes precieuses, les meubles superbes, les 
tableaux des grands maitres, les maisons richement decores ? 

" A I'epoque de la revocation, notre commerce, a peine sorti 
des mains de Colbert, son createur, etoit encore dans I'enfance. 
Que pouvrons-nous apprendre a nos rivaux, de ce qui nous 
avions tout appris ? L'Angleterre, la Hollande, I'ltalie, nous 
avoit devances dans la carriere ; les manufactures de Louviers 
et de Sedan ont eu leurs modeles chez nos voisins. Le 
nom seul d'un tres grand nombre de nos fabrications rapelle 
Londres, Florence, Naples, Turin, et decele ainsi une ori- 
gine etrangere." ^ 

{See page 7] 

"Les arrets et les edits se succedoient rapidement, on pen- 
soit alors que les edits precedens de tolerance et de pacification 
n'etoient pas des traites d'alliance, mais des ordonnances faites 
par les rois pour I'utilite publique, et sujets a revocation lorsque 
le bien de I'Etat le demande. Tel etoit le sentiment du 
docteur Arnauld, et, ce qui est plus remarquable, de Grotius 
lui-meme. Le gouvernement fran^ais paroissait suivre le meme 
systeme politique que les gouvernements protestans avoient mis 
depuis longtemps a execution contre leurs sujets catholiques ; 
et meme, en comparent leur code penal avec celui de la France, 
il seroit facile de prouver qu'il se montra plus indulgent et plus 
tolerant." ^ 

{See page 4/^ 

" The Blue Bells " was at the present Washington Heights, 
on the east side of the old Kingsbridge road, and opposite the 
Bennett place, formerly owned by Mr. Henry O'Reilly. We 
are told by Mr. Blasie Ryer of that vicinity that it was a long, 
low-roofed frame house, and was demolished many years ago. 

^ Conferences par M. I. Frayssinous, liv. Hi. p. 127. 
^ Histoire de Bossuet, tome iii. p. 87. 



Appendix 



This tavern was kept during the Revolution by one Wilson, an 
Englishman and a Tory. It was a favorite rendezvous of Brit- 
ish officers, who there once concocted a night job for the cap- 
ture of Washington ; discovered, however, in time to save him, 
by a Scotch servant girl of the house, by the name of Douglas. 
She let out the secret to a good patriot woman, Mrs. Bauer, 
living across the street, — our informant's grandmother, — who 
contrived to send word to the General by her little Christine, 
to keep out of the way that night." — Magazine of American 
History^ vol. vi. i. 

ISee page _52] 

Etienne DeLancey ^ was descended from Guy DeLancey 
Viscount de Loval and de Nourion. At the time of the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes he and his widowed 
mother, being stanch Protestants, were obliged to seek flight 
or concealment for safety. Etienne, then at the age of 
twenty-three, chose the former. Before parting, his mother 
gave him the family jewels, they being the most available 
property for him, and he succeeded in escaping with them to 
Holland, and from there went to England, where he em- 
barked for America, after obtaining letters of denization. By 
the sale of his jewels he obtained a considerable sum that 
enabled him to enter a profitable commercial business. His 
rank and high personal character acquired for him a high 
position amongst the French refugees in New York, and he 
was one of the first anciens of the French Church. He 
married a daughter of Stephen Van Cortlandt and founded 
a family of social and political distinction. His son James 
became Chief Justice and Lieut. Governor of the province. 
This family is now represented by Edward Floyd Delancey, 
Esq., of New York, who is the head of this branch, all the 
other branches having become extinct in the male line. — 
Baird's Huguenot Emigration. 

[See page <5j] 

Jacques Desbrosses was a Huguenot refugee from Mon- 
champ, France, and arrived in the city of New York in 1701. 
He married Helene Gaudineau in 1703. She was the 

^ Like many other names this has changed from its original form. 

[^55] 



Philip Frcncau 



daughter of a Huguenot physician of Sigournais, France, who 
was very active during Leisler's time ; and the latter threw 
him into prison for refusing to surrender his commission. 
He was an ancien oi the French Church and obtained the 
freedom of the citv in 1702. He was aftenvards a vestry- 
man of Trinity Church. 

Jacques and Helene had six children all of whom were 
baptized in the French Church. Their eldest son, likewise 
Jacques, was an ancien of that congregation, and the youngest, 
£lie, was a vestryman and warden of Trinity Church, New 
York City. In his will he left to the corporation of the latter 
church a fund for the use and benefit of such French clergy 
as should perform divine service in the French language, but 
according to the liturgy of the Church of England. One of 
the streets in New York is named after this family. — BaircTs 
Huguenot Emigration. 

[See pagf 0,-] 

John Fanning Watson, the antiquan' and annalist, was born 
at Batsto, Burlington County, New Jersey, in 17S0, and died 
in Germantown, Pennsylvania, December 23, i860. He had 
a bookstore in Philadelphia for many years, and employed his 
leisure in gathering items o\ interest in rei^ard to the early 
history of Philadelphia ; which he published under the title of 
"Annals of Philadelphia," Svo, 1830 ; and a second edition 
in two volumes in 1844. The success of this work led him 
to collect and publish some incidents of early and revolution- 
ary- history pertaining to New York and Pennsylvania under 
the title of " Historic Tales of the Olden Times in Penn- 
sylvania, 1833." ^" 1846 he published "Annals of New 
York City and State," and in 1856 a " Histon- of the United 
States." — Jnurican Cycbpiedic 

\^See pagf So] 

The family o^ Morin was from Niort, one of the former 
Huguenot strongholds in France. Upon escaping from the 
latter countn- in the year 1085, the Morins, along with the 
Ouintards, with whom thev were related, sought refuge in 
Bristol, England, where Sir Jonathan Trelawnev procured for 

[ -'i<^ ] 



Appendix 



the use of the refugees the beautiful Church of St. Marks, or 
the Gaunt Chapel. 

The Morins and the Quintards belonged to the Narragan- 
sett Colony, but finally came to New York, where Pierre 
Morin married, in the year 1700, Esther, daughter of Elie 
Charron. By her he had nine children, three boys and six 
girls, two of the latter beino; twins. 

The Right Rev. Ch. T.^Quintard, D.D., LL.D., of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, Bishop of the diocese of Ten- 
nessee, is a descendant in the fifth generation of this family. 
The Quintards finally moved to Stamford, Conn., where their 
descendants yet live. 

{See page pj] 

On May 26, 1775, the British warship " Asia," of sixty-four 
guns, arrived with orders to take on board the Royal Irish 
Regiment, which was quartered at the Upper Barracks in the 
Park. The departure of this detachment almost led to blood- 
shed. The committee had issued an order permitting the 
troops to leave unhindered, with such arms and accoutrements 
as thev carried on their persons. 

The people gathered in the streets to see the departure of 
the thoroughly unpopular redcoats, and were astonished to see, 
directly behind the first lines, a number of carts containing 
stacks of arms. Among those who noticed this unexpected 
feature of the procession was Marinus VVillett, a prominent 
" Son of Liberty " and Captain in the First Regiment, " New 
York Line." He immediately gave the alarm and began col- 
lecting a force to prevent the troops from carrying ofF their 
spare arms. 

" The way I took," to quote his own words (" New York 
in the Revolution," Mercantile Library Collection), " brought 
me to the front of the troops, as they were marching, before 
any of the other persons who set out on the same business. 
On my arrival in their front, which was at the corner of 
Beaver Street, in Broad Street, I stopped the horse that was 
drawing the front cartload of arms. This, of course, occasioned 
a halt of the troops, and brought the Major of the regiment, 
who was the commanding officer, in front to inquire into the 
cause of the halt. I had the horse by the head, and on the 
appearance of the Major informed him that the halt was made 

[-'-] [ 257 ] 



Philip Freneau 



to prevent the spare arms from being carried off, as the act of 
the committee did not authorize the troops taking any other 
arms than such as thev carried on their backs. 

" While I was making this explanation to the Major, David 
Matthews, Esq., came up and accosted me in the following 
words : ' I am surprised, Mr. Willet, that you will hazard 
the peace and endanger the lives of our citizens when you 
know that the committee has directed that the troops shall be 
permitted to depart unmolested.' As Mr. Matthews was a 
Tory and zealous supporter of the measures of the British 
Government, his presence or opinion could have no influence 
with me, and I very unhesitatingly assured him . . . that, 
considering the bloodv business which had taken place among 
our brethren in Massachusetts, whom we were bound by ties 
of honor as well as interest to support, I deemed it my duty 
to prevent these arms from being used against them, and con- 
ceived that it would be much more reputable for us to em- 
ploy them in the defence of our injured country. 

" While this question was agitating with the Major and the 
Mayor, [Matthews,] Mr. Gouverneur Morris made his appear- 
ance, and, to my great astonishment, joined the Mayor in opin- 
ion. Mr. Morris's situation was very different from that of the 
Mayor's. He was a Whig of very respectable connections 
and young, of brilliant talents. To be opposed by Mr. Mor- 
ris staggered me — And I doubt whether all my zeal and en- 
thusiasm would have supported me had it not been for the 
arrival at that critical moment of John Morin Scott, who was 
an influential member of the committee, and whose reputation 
for talents was as great as any in the city. He came up just 
as I was repeating to Mr. Morris the reasons of my conduct, 
and exclaimed in a loud voice: 'You are right, Willett ; the 
committee has not given them permission to carry off any 
spare arms.' By this time the throng of people around us had 
greatly increased and were pressing in on every side. Mr. 
Scott's opinion was scarcely proclaimed when I turned the 
front cart to the right and directed the cartman to drive up 
Beaver Street ; the other carts, which were loaded with arms, 
were made to follow." 

At the suggestion of Scott, Willett jumped in one of the carts 
and announced to the soldiers that if they were ready to aid in 

[ 258 ] 



Appendix 



the bloody business the patriots were ready to meet them " in 
the sanguine field," but if any of them felt a repugnance 
to the work of shedding their countrymen's blood they would 
be protected. One redcoat came forward and was received 
with great cheers. 

The carts, accompanied by the continual huzzas of the 
people, were thereupon turned back, and, making their way 
through Beaver Street and upon the Broad Way, deposited 
their chests in a ball alley at the corner of John Street. 
These arms were afterward used by the first troops raised in 
New York by the Committee, 

The forbearance of the British Major on this occasion has 
always been a cause of great surprise. It was perhaps due to 
his sympathy with the American cause, as shortly after he 
resigned his commission. 

No doubt the advice of the sage and patriotic Morris in this 
instance was eminently proper, but as sometimes happens the 
rash and audacious deed of Willett bore sood fruit and ren- 
dered his name and his service immortal. 

During the Revolutionary War, Willett became one of the 
most efficient officers in the American army. Subsequently 
he occupied the position of Sheriff, and in 1807 was Mayor 
of the City. Sheriff and Willett Streets were both named 
in his honor. He died at the ripe old age of ninety, and was 
buried in a coffin made of pieces of wood collected by himself 
from various Revolutionary battlefields. — Albert Ulmann, 
in the New Tork Times — Saturday Review. 

{^See page /oj] 

As many seem to identify privateering with piracy, a 
word on the subject may not be inopportune. 

According to the law of nations, when one power has de- 
clared war against another, all the subjects of the one are 
enemies to the subjects of the other, and consequently the 
subjects of one power may not properly complain of hostile 
acts done by those of the adverse power, even though such 
acts should not have been specially commanded by the power. 
Usually, however, unsanctioned inimical acts have been 
practically condemned by nearly all civilized nations, for, 
although not looked upon as piracy, yet they would be irreg- 



Philip Freneau 



ular. The universal rule is that, except in case of self-defence, 
only those regularly enrolled by their respective powers should 
take part in warfare. To the sovereign power it belongs to 
make war, and in doing so it may employ what means it sees 
fit. It may limit itself to its own resources, or it mav make 
use of those of others, either by land or sea ■, it may employ 
only its public vessels, or it may avail itself of vessels belong- 
ing to private persons; and in doing the latter, the fact of giv- 
ing them a commission forms of such forces in respect to the 
navy what would compare with a volunteer force in respect 
to the regular army, for in both of these cases the commissions 
they bear make of them servants of the State. To guard 
against the abuses incident to piracy, such sea forces are sub- 
ject to certain regulations. 

Unprepared as were the colonies for warfare on land, to a 
greater degree were they so by sea. Warfare against the French, 
Spanish, and Indians had necessarily imparted to the colonists 
a certain degree of experience and discipline, but never having 
entered into contest with these foes on the sea, they had con- 
sequently no advantage whatever. Far easier was it for them 
to raise an armv, and to drill it on firm land which had been 
their basis in every operation since their advent, than to build 
and equip vessels, and perform evolutions on such an unstable 
and unaccustomed element as water. Subjects also could be 
found more ready to rise up and equip themselves to defend 
their hearth-fires than to leave them to the mercy of their 
enemy and go forth to meet such of them as were already 
considered masters of the sea. 

The origin of the United States navy dated only from 1775, 
in which year Congress authorized two cruisers to be built, the 
one carrying ten, the other fourteen guns ; soon after, fifteen 
other vessels were authorized to be built, carrying from twenty 
to thirty-six guns, — the colonies of New England, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Maryland bearing the expense of their 
construction. On December 22, 1775, Esek Hopkins and Paul 
Jones were appointed, respectively, commander-in-chief and 
lieutenant ; there was also appointed a corps of naval officers. 
By October, 1776, the infant navy numbered twenty-six ves- 
sels, mounting 536 guns, and with this ineffectual armament, 
the colonies were to meet the superior force of Great Britain, 



Appendix 



until such time as the French fleet came to assist them in their 
efforts. They were utterly unable to succeed in combined 
operation against the British, as in the very few encounters 
they had, the colonists came off conquered ; consequently the 
sea-coast was at the mercy of the oppressors. 

Seeing the necessity of enlarging their force, Congress gladly 
granted letters of marque to any well-known patriots who 
should be venturesome enough to undertake the work of as- 
sisting their country on the sea. Without these letters of 
marque such vessels would have been treated, when captured, as 
ordinary pirates. The instructions issued by Congress to all 
privateers during the Revolution were as follows : — 

" I. You may by force of arms attack, subdue, and take all 
ships and other vessels belonging to the inhabitants of Great 
Britain, on the high sea, or between high water and low water 
marks, except ships and vessels bringing persons who intend to 
settle and reside in the United States; or bringing arms, ammu- 
nition or warlike stores to the said colonies, for the use of such 
inhabitants thereof as are friends to the American Cause, which 
you shall suffer to pass unmolested, the commander thereof per- 
mitting a peaceable search and giving satisfactory information 
of the contents of the ladings and the destination of the 
voyages. 

"II. You may by force of arms subdue and take all ships 
and other vessels whatsoever carrying soldiers, arms, gunpow- 
der, ammunition, provisions, or any other contraband goods 
to any of the British armies or ships of war employed against 
the colonies. 

" III. You shall bring such ships and vessels as you shall take, 
with their guns, tackle, apparel, furniture and lading, to some 
convenient port or a port of the united Colonies, that proceedings 
may thereupon be had in due form before the courts which are 
or shall be then appointed to hear and determine causes civil 
and maritime. 

"IV. You or one of your chief officers shall bring or send 
the master and pilot and one or more principal person or persons 
of the company of every ship or vessel by you taken, as soon 
after the capture as may be, to the Judge or Judges, of such 
court as aforesaid to be examined upon oath and make an- 
swer to the interrogatories which may be propounded touching 



Philip Freneau 



the interest or property of the ship or vessel and her lading, 
and at the same time you shall deliver or cause to be delivered 
to the Judge or Judges all Passes, Sea Briefs, Charter-Parties, 
Bills of Lading, Lockers, Letters and Documents, and Writ- 
ings found on Board, proving the said Papers by the Affidavit 
of yourself, or of some other Person present at the Capture, to be 
produced as they were received, without Fraud, Addition, Sub- 
traction, or Embezzlement. 

" V. You shall keep and preserve every Ship or Vessel and 
Cargo by you taken until they shall by Sentence of a Court 
properly authorized be adjudged lawful Prize, not selling, wast- 
ing, or diminishing the same or breaking the Bulk thereof, 
not Suifering any such Thing to be done. 

" VL If you or any of your Officers or Crew shall in cold 
blood, kill or maim, or, by Torture or otherwise. Cruelly, 
inhumanly, and contrary to common usage and the Practice 
of civilized nations in war treat any Person or Persons sur- 
prised in the Ship or Vessel you shall take, the offender shall 
be severely punished. 

" VIL You shall by all convenient Opportunities, send to 
Congress written accounts of the Capture you shall make, 
with the number and names of the Captives, Copies of your 
Journal from time to time, and Intelligence of what may occur 
or be discovered concerning the Design of the Enemy and 
the Destinations, motion and Operation of their Fleets and 
armies. 

"VIII. One third, at least of your whole company shall be 
Land men. 

" IX. You shall not ransom any Prisoners or Captives, but 
shall dispose of them in such manner as the Congress, or if that 
be not sitting in the Colony whither they shall be brought, as the 
General Assembly, Convention or Council or Committee of 
Safety of such Colony shall direct. 

" X. You shall observe all such further instructions as Con- 
gress shall hereafter give, in the promise you shall have notice 
thereof. 

" XI. If you shall do anything contrary to these instructions 
or to others hereafter to be given, or willingly suffer such things 
to be done, you shall not only forfeit your commission and be 
liable to an Action for Breach of the Condition of your Bond, 



Appendix 



but be responsible to the Party aggrieved for Damages sus- 
tained by such malversation." 

{See page /j.?] 

The following letter i goes to prove that Peter Freneau did 
not go to South Carolina till after the year 1780; it was 
written just two weeks before the capture of the " Aurora." 

Philadelphia, May 13th, 1780. 

Sir, — With this you will receive a Cask containing 
14 Gallf of Wine which is due you for two Guineas that 
you gave me on the other side you have your Account — 
I am informed that you have rec!! ;^50 for the Horse that I 
lost in M". Budinots service, this sum is so far from making 
me any satisfaction that I am determined not to take it, the 
Horse cost me upwards of £1.0 in Specie, I think it is Just 
that I should have more than ;^50 Continental which at the 
present Exchange is only ^ a very Small Compensation for 
lying out of my property upwards of two years. I would 
therefore beg that if you do not get more for me that you will 
inform Mf. Budinot that I had rather Loose the horse than 
take a mere Shaddow in pay for him. — I have nothing more 
to add only that I am 

Very Respectfully 

Your most obedient 
Humble Servant 

Peter Freneau. 
John Covenhoven Esq^ 
P'reehold 

Monmouth County. 

\See page 18 f\ 

Chief Justice Pinckney was the son of Thomas Pinckney 
and Marv Cotesworth. In 1752 he was made Chief Justice 
of the province. His wife, Eliza Lucas, daughter of Colonel 
Lucas of the British army, was the first to introduce the 
cultivation of indigo into the United States. He had two 
sons Charles Cotesworth and Thomas Pinckney ; both brothers 

1 The original letter is in the possession of Mr. Weymer Jay Mills. 



Philip Freneau 



practised law in Charleston, and at the breaking out of the 
Revolution took up arms in defence of their country. Charles 
accepted in 1796 the post of Minister to France; he was 
afterwards appointed major-general in the army. In 1800 
he was a candidate for the presidency. Thomas became aid 
to General Lincoln the commander of the Southern army. 
In 1789 he was elected Governor of South Carolina, and in 
1792 was appointed Minister to Great Britain, and afterwards 
was appointed to fill the same position in Spain. He was 
appointed major-general in 1812. 

\See page 22S\ 

In the preface to one of Edmund Burke's works we find 
this allusion to Mrs. Leadbeater : — 

" Edmund Burke was at Ballytore school under its founder, 
and its founder's son and heir was then among his schoolfel- 
lows and comrades. Its founder's daughter, Mary, became 
afterward Mrs. Leadbeater, and when Burke was a great man 
in London, Richard Shackleton having come also to be head 
of the Ballytore school, it was his rest and happiness to Burke, 
to take a holiday at Ballytore with its president who had been 
his schoolfellow and to correspond with Mrs. Leadbeater." 

\See page 22g'\ 

" At the age of seventeen years Henry O'Rielly became the 
assistant editor of the ' New York Patriot,' the organ of the 
' People's Party,' which elected De Witt Clinton governor of 
the State of New York in 1824. When in 1826 Luther 
Tucker & Co. established the ' Rochester Daily Advertiser,' 
the first daily newspaper published between the Hudson River 
and Pacific Ocean, young O'Rielly, then not twenty-one 
years of age, was chosen to be its editor. 'About this time he 
married Marcia, eldest daughter of General Micah Brooks, of 
Brooks' Grove, Livingston County, a pioneer settler from 
Brooks' Vale, Connecticut. General Brooks' father, a grad- 
uate of Yale, as a minister preached resistance to injustice 
with picket guards around his church, and held such different 
positions of trust in the New Haven colony as were compati- 
ble with his profession. He was related to Maj.-Gen. David 
Wooster. General Brooks filled many prominent positions 

[ 264 ] 



Appendix 



and exercised a great influence in the early days of the State 
and the Republic. In our State Legislature, and Constitutional 
Convention, in the National Congress, as Judge for over twenty 
years, and served several campaigns on the British frontiers 
during the w^zx of i8i2. While in Congress he was chair- 
man of the " Committee on Internal Improvements," which 
committee was composed of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, 
John C. Calhoun, Wm. Henry Harrison, Richard M. John- 
ston, and otherso' 

"Mr. O'Rielly resumed his editorial labors in 1832, and 
became an active leader in all public enterprises. In 1833, as 
chairman of the Executive Committee of Rochester on Canal 
Affairs, he wrote the first memorial presented to the Legisla- 
ture and the Canal Board, in favor of rebuilding the failing 
structures of the Erie Canal. He then proposed a judicious 
plan for the enlargement of the Canal, which, if it had been 
adopted, might have saved the State millions of dollars. He 
was a zealous advocate of such enlargement, and he was chair- 
man of the first State Executive Committee appointed by the 
first Canal Enlargement Convention in 1837. In that capac- 
ity he served many years with great efficiency. In 1838 he 
was appointed postmaster of Rochester. At the same time his 
never-wearied pen prepared pamphlets and newspaper essays, 
filled with cogent arguments in favor of reform in the methods 
of popular education. In these efforts he was ably seconded 
by the venerable James Wadsworth, Senior,^ of Genneseo ; and 
their joint labors led to the legislation that fashioned the pres- 
ent common-school system of the State of New York. Mr. 
O'Rielly earnestly advocated the introduction of works on 
agriculture into the school-district libraries of the State, and 
his wise suggestions in his reports as Secretary of the State 
Agricultural Society have been practically carried out in the 
establishment of State Agricultural Colleges in every common- 
wealth in the Union. He was the originator of the State Con- 
stitutional Association which was the means of bringing about 
the reforms in the Constitution of the State of New York in 
1846. He was also the originator at about the same time, of 
a project for the establishment of a private telegraph system 
for a range of about eight thousand miles in length connecting 

1 Father of General James Wadsworth. 



Philip Freneau 



all sections of the United States east of the Mississippi River. 
For this purpose he secured the right to the use of all the tele- 
graph patents which had then been granted. This system was 
known as the ' Atlantic, Lake, and Mississippi Telegraph 
Range,' the earliest lightning range in America or the world, 
and it was carried into effect by his individual effort, without 
governmental direction or subsidies. 

" In 1853 Mr. O'Rielly was engaged by the State of Iowa to 
improve the navigation of the Des Moines River, but circum- 
stances caused a suspension of the work. A few years later 
the railroad interest in the State of New York took an attitude 
decidedly hostile to the great Erie Canal, a powerful commer- 
cial rival. That interest conspired to destroy its credit and to 
make the people believe that it was the source of burdensome 
taxation. The completion of its enlargement was opposed, 
and a scheme was devised for controlling legislation so as to 
deprive the people of this great property by its sale to the 
highest bidder. In the fall of 1859 ^^^- O'Rielly sent forth 
a stirring address to the people of the State on the subject. 
They were aroused. The ' Clinton League ' was formed, with 
Mr. O'Rielly as chairman, and, by their untiring efforts, this 
scheme, which if carried out, would have disgraced the Com- 
monwealth, was frustrated. When the late Civil War broke 
out he was one of the most active promoters of measures for 
the preservation of the Union, and was secretary of the * So- 
ciety for Promoting the Enlistment of Colored Troops.' He 
originated in 1867 an organized movement for reforming and 
cheapening the operations of the Railroad system of the United 
States. Mr. O'Rielly has deposited with the New York His- 
torical Society, of which he had been a member since 1840, 
almost two hundred volumes, partly in manuscript and partly 
in print, containing well-arranged documents and other papers 
relating to the history of important public events in which he 
has participated. These form authentic materials of inestima- 
ble value, especially to the future historian, of the early ope- 
rations of the Canal and Telegraph systems of the United 
States." ^ About 1838 he prepared and published a volume of 
five hundred pages entitled " Sketches of Rochester, with In- 
cidental Notices of Western New York." It was the first 

1 Harper's Cyclopaedia of American History. 



Appendix 



work of its kind ever published in the interior of the continent. 
Mr. O'Rielly was also the author of " Personal Recollections 
of Major Van Campen, the Guide and Chief Quartermaster of 
General Sullivan;" "The Personal Recollections of William 
Wood ; " " Personal Recollections of Thomas Morris," the 
son and representative of Robert Morris ; " Personal Recollec- 
tions of John Greig, M. C. ; " " Sketch of the Formation of 
the First Regiment of the National Guards," now the Seventh 
Regiment, of which he was Orderly Sergeant. 
"Memoir" concerning American Journalism. 
" Memorial " concerning Public School System. 
" Memorial " in regard of right of Telegraph Constructors. 
" Memorials " to President Polk, to Congress, National Con- 
ventions, and State Legislatures to urge the stationing troops 
for security of travellers and settlers between the Missis- 
sippi and Pacific Ocean. 
" Memorial to Supreme Court against Telegraph Monopoly." 
" History Getting Right," rendering justice to Prof. Joseph 

Henry, of Smithsonian Institute, and Mr. Alfred Vail. 
" Resolutions and Correspondence," New York State Agricul- 
tural Society 1844—5. 
" American Political Anti-masonry." 
" Origin of Mormonism and its Golden Bible." 
"True Causes of the Great Rebellion." 

" Historical Sketch of the Origin of Enlisting Colored 
Troops." 

Mr. O'Rielly was also the compiler and author of various 
publications issued by the " Democratic League " and the 
compiler and annotator of more than fifty volumes of papers 
and documents concerning " Public Improvement Enter- 
prises " in which he had taken part. He also composed 
many poems, usually patriotic, some of which were set to 
music. He also frequently contributed articles to the public 
press, and at the close of the war he published a " memento 
of Captain Brooks O'Reilly," his eldest son, who after the 
besieging of Yorktown fell during the attack upon Williams- 
burgh, Va. 

\See page 233^ 

Thomas Windeatt Blatchford, M.D., was born in Topham, 
Devonshire, England, on the twentieth of July, 1794. His 



Philip Freneau 



father, the Rev. Samuel Blatchford, removed to this country 
when Thomas was an infant, and first settled in Bedford, 
N. Y., and afterwards in Greenfield Hill, Conn., to which 
place he was called as the successor of Dr. Dwight, who had 
accepted the presidency of Yale College. He was subse- 
quently called to the pastoral charge of the united congrega- 
tions of Lansingburgh and Waterford, N. Y., in 1804, where 
he spent the most of his useful life. 

Dr. Blatchford's early studies were prosecuted under the 
direction of his father, in Lansingburgh Academy, of which 
his father was the principal. In 18 10 he commenced the 
study of medicine under Dr. John Taylor of Lansingburgh, 
and in 18 13 he matriculated at the "College of Physicians 
and Surgeons." In 1815 he went to England and attended 
two courses of lectures at the united schools of Guy's and 
St. Thomas' hospitals, given by Sir Astley Cooper and Pro- 
fessor Cline. In 18 16 he returned to New York and after 
attending another course of lectures he graduated in 18 17. 
His graduating thesis was upon "Feigned Diseases," being 
the result of his observations and experience while attending 
the State Prison. The paper was printed and gives evidence 
of that judicious observation and accuracy of diagnosis which 
distinguished his subsequent career as a medical man. After 
receiving his degree of M.D. he opened an office in New 
York City. He afterwards removed to Jamaica, Long Island, 
where, gaining the confidence of the residents, he had an ex- 
tensive and arduous practice. In 18 19 he married Harriet, 
the daughter of Thomas Wickes, a descendant of one of the 
original patentees of the town of Huntington in 1666, and 
one of the leading men on Long Island, who took a prominent 
part in our revolutionary struggle, being connected with the 
American army during the entire war, in the quartermaster's 
department, with the rank of major. While in Jamaica the 
doctor identified himself with the interests of the town, being 
a trustee in Union Hall Academy, and an active laborer in 
works of religion and general benevolence. 

In 1828, after the death of his father. Dr. Blatchford re- 
moved to Troy for the purpose of being near his widowed 
mother. The successful treatment and cure of a clergyman 
there whom several other physicians had treated unsuccess- 

\268\ 



Appendix 



fully, caused him to become very popular, and for a period of 
about forty years he was looked upon as a highly successful 
practitioner and a cultivated and scientific medical man. 

His intercourse with his associates was uniformly marked 
by the amenities and courtesies of one who appreciated and 
loved the honor of his profession. While jealous of his own 
reputation, he paid a scrupulous regard to the reputation and 
rights of others. He took great pleasure in rendering aid and 
encouragement to his professional juniors, and even assisted 
them materially. His interest in the advancement and welfare 
of his profession was manifested in his efforts for the promo- 
tion of medical association. The State and county medical 
societies, and the American Medical Association, were re- 
garded as worthy of his active efforts for their promotion. 
He was rarely absent from their meetings, and their records 
bear evidence not only of his interest in their welfare, but of 
his sound judgment in the adoption of measures calculated to 
promote the cause of medical science. 

Dr. Blatchford is favorably known by his published papers 
and essays, which are as follows : " Inaugural Dissertation 
on Feigned Diseases," in 1817; " Letters," &c., 1823; "Let- 
ters to Married Ladies," 1825; "Homoeopathy Illustrated," 
1824. One of the earliest discussions of the delusion which 
was published and which has always been regarded as possessed 
of peculiar merit, " Equivocal Generation," 1844. " Inaugural 
Address before the Medical Society of the State of New 
York;" " Memoir of Charles Lyman, Esq.," 1849; "Two 
Cases of Hydrophobia," 1854; "Report on Hydrophobia," 
1856, read before the American Medical Association, and 
published in their Transactions ; " Report on Rest and the 
Abolition of Pain, as Curative Remedies," 1856 ; " Eulogy 
on Dr. Samuel McClellan," 1859; "Alumni Oration before 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons," New York, 1861 ; 
besides many articles for newspapers, and papers contributed 
to the medical and surgical journals. 

Dr. Blatchford kept a meteorological journal from the year 
1824; noting the range of the thermometer and barometer, 
direction of the wind and aspect of the weather, account of 
rain, snow, &c. His accuracy and care in these observations 
were well known, and the testimony of his record on these 



Philip Freneau 



subjects, was regarded as conclusive. He was a philanthropist 
in the highest sense of the term. The temperance cause re- 
ceived his earnest and most systematic efforts for its promo- 
tion. Every enterprise for the advancement of the well-being 
of his fellow-men, at home or abroad, found in him an earnest 
friend, and active and consistent colaborer. 

Dr. Blatchford was connected with the Marshall Infirmary 
of Troy from its foundation. The Lunatic Asylum connected 
with the Infirmary was projected by him. Upon his death 
the governors, in their tribute to his memory, express their 
"irreparable loss" in the death of their associate, and declare 
that his place in their councils "can never be wholly filled," 
and that his labors in the care of the institution " have been 
such that few can ever equal." He left his valuable medical 
library of over six hundred volumes to the institution. The be- 
quest was accepted by the governors, who resolved to place the 
books in a separate apartment to be known as the " Blatchford 
Medical Library of the Marshall Infirmary." 

The doctor was connected for a period of seven years with 
the Board of Education of the city of Troy, and was its 
presiding officer during most of that time. To the cause of 
education he gave his untiring energies. Regarding the health 
of the body as essential as the improvement of the mind he 
drew the plan of most of the schoolhouses of the city, so as 
to secure pure air and thorough ventilation. One of the 
public schools was named, in 1862, the Blatchford School. 
He was also a trustee of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 
and of the Troy Female Seminary. 

Dr. Blatchford's reputation as a man of science was recog- 
nized in the degree of A.M., by Union College in 18 15; in 
his election as Fellow of the Albany Medical College in 
1834; President of the Rensselaer County Medical Society 
1842—3; Permanent member of the Medical Society of the 
State of New York, 1845, ^"^ '^s President in 1847 > Mem- 
ber of the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science, 1 849 ; Corresponding Fellow of New York Academy 
of Medicine, 1847 » Vice-president of the American Medical 
Association, 1856; Corresponding Member of the Academy 
of Science, St. Louis, 1857 » Fellow of the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons, New York, 1861 ; Honorary Member of 

[ ^70 ] 



Appendix 



the Medical Society of New Jersey, 1861, and of the Medical 
Society of Connecticut, 1862. 

As a Christian a uniform and consistent piety formed a part 
of the man. In his daily round of duties, professional, civil, 
social, as well as in those more peculiarly religious, his aim 
seemed always to be to " do all things to the glory of God." 
He seldom absented himself from the services of the sanctuary. 
So unusual was his absence that when at rare intervals it 
did happen, the minister would send to his residence, under 
the apprehension that he was ill. It is said that a certain 
physician in Troy had been admonished for his uniform 
absence from services on Sundays, and he excused himself 
on the ground of professional duty, and he was asked why 
Dr. Blatchford could attend church so regularly, whereupon 
he acknowledged that he could not understand it, as his prac- 
tice was not so large as Dr. Blatchford's, He was advised to 
learn the doctor's secret, and upon calling upon the latter for 
the purpose, the doctor said to him : " You always attend your 
consultations, don't you, doctor ? " ^' Oh, yes," he replied. 
"And you aim to be always punctual to your appointments, 
don't you ? " He answered in the affirmative, and with empha- 
sis. "Well," said Dr. Blatchford, " I have a consultation with 
my Divine Master at ten o'clock every Sunday morning, and 
I make all my arrangements to meet my appointment." 

His piety was not severe, but always beautiful ; ever cheer- 
ful, often jocose and eminently social, his society was wel- 
come to every circle. He fell asleep in Jesus Jan. 7th, 1866. 
— Memoir by Stephen Wickes^ A.M.^ M.D. 

ISee page 234] 

In the notes to " The Lord of the Isles " we find an ac- 
count of the cruel execution of Sir Simon Frazer, called in the 
poem the " flower of chivalry." 

Note. — "Sir Simon Frazer, or Frizel, ancestor of the 
family of Lovat, is dwelt upon at great length, and with savage 
exultation, by the English historians. This knight, who was 
renowned for personal gallantry, and high deeds of chivalry, was 
made prisoner, after a gallant defence, in the battle of Methuen. 
Some stanzas of a ballad of the times give minute particulars 
of his fate. It was written immediately at the period, for it 

[271] 



Philip Freneau 

mentions the Earl of Athole as not yet in custody. It has been 
translated out of the rude orthography of the times to make it 
Intelligible." 

•• This was before Saint Bartholomew's mass. 

That Frizel was y -taken, were it more other less. 
To Sir Thomas of Multon, gendl baron and free. 
And to Sir Johan Jose be-take tho was he 
To hand 
He was y-fettered wele 
Both with iron and with steel 

To bringen of Scotland. 

*' Soon thereafter the tiding to the King come. 
He sent him to London, with mony armed groom. 
He came in at Newgate, I tell you it on a-plight, 
A garland of leaves on his head y-dight 
Of green. 
For he should be y-know 
Both of high and of low. 

For traitour I ween. 

"Y-fettered were his legs under his horse's wombe. 
Both with iron and with steel mancled were his hond ; 
A garland of pervynk^ set upon his heved,^ 
Much was the power that him was bereved 

In land 
So God me amend. 
Little he ween'd 

So to be brought in hand. 

** This was upon our lady's even, forsooth I understand. 
The Justices sate for the knights of Scotland, 
Sir Thomas of Multon, an kinde knyght and wise. 
And Sir Ralph of Sandwich that mickle is told in price. 

And Sir Johan Abel, 
Moe I might tell by tale 
Both of great and of small 

Ye know sooth well. 

" Then said the Justice, that gentil is and free. 
Sir Simond Frizel the king's traiter hast thou be; 

1 Periwinkle. ^ Head. 

[ 272 ] 



Appendix 



In water and in land that mony mighten sec. 
What sayst thou thereto, how will thou quite thee. 
Do say. 
So foul he him wist, 
Nede war on trust 

For to say nay. 

** With fetters and with gives ^ y-hot he was to draw 
From the Tower of London that many men might know. 
In a kirtle of burel, a selcouth wise, 
And a garland on his head of the new guise. 

Through Cheape 
Many men of England 
For to see Symond 

Thitherward can leap. 

** Though he cam to the gallows first he was on hung. 
All quick beheaded that him thought long ; 
Then he was y-opened, his bowels y-brend,^ 
The heved to London Bridge was send 

To shende. 
So evermore mote I the. 
Some while weened he 

Thus little to stand.* 

*' He rideth through the city, as I tell may. 
With gamen and with solace that was their play. 
To London-bridge he took the way, 
Mony was the wives child that thereon lacketh a day * 

And said alas ! 
That he was y-born. 
And so vilely forlorn. 

So fair man he was. * 

"Now standeth the heved above the tu-brigge, 
Fast by Wallace sooth for to segge ; 
After succor of Scodand long may he pry ; 
And after help of France what halt it to lie 
I ween 
Better him were in Scotland 
With his axe in his hand 

To play on the green,' ' &c. 

^ Ke was condemned to be drawn. '^ Burned. 

3 Meaning that he little thought ever to stand thus. 
* Saith lack a day. 
5 The gallant knight was pitied by the female spectators. 

[/*] [ 273 ] 



Philip Freneau 



" The Friday next, before the assumption of Our Lady, 
King Edward met Robert the Bruce at Saint Johnstowne in 
Scotland, and with his company, of which company King 
Edward qvelde seven thousand. When Robert the Bruce 
saw this mischief and gan to flee, an hov'd him that men 
might not him find ; but Sir Simond Frisell (Frazer) pursued 
was so sore, that he turned again and abode bataille, for he 
was a worthy knight and a bolde of body, and the English- 
men pursuede him sore on every side and qvelde the steed that 
sir Simon Frisell rode upon, and then toke him and led him 
to the host. And Sir Symond began to speke fair, and saide, 
Lordys, I shall give you four thousand marks of silver, and 
myne horse and harness, and all my armoure and income. 
Tho', answered Thobaude of Pevenes, that was the king's 
archer, now, God me so helpe, it is for nought that thou 
speakest, for all the gold of England I would not let thee go 
without commandment of King Edward. And tho' he was 
led to the king, and the king would not see him, but com- 
manded to lead him away to his doom in London, on our 
Lady's even nativity. And he was hung and drawn and his 
head smitten off, and hanged again with chains of iron upon 
the gallows and his head was set at London-bridge upon a 
spear, and against Christmas the body was burnt." 

We have quoted these notes in full for three reasons : of 
which the first is that there are many of Sir Simon Frazer's 
descendants living in America who may not have read them 
before ; to picture the extreme cruelty with which brave men 
were treated in those times; and to show the changes the Eng- 
lish language has undergone, when even this version has been 
" translated out of its rude orthography." 

{See page 234] 

The family of Biddle have added many important names to 
the roll of honor of their adopted country. In what year any 
of its members first came to America we know not, but they 
were settlers and proprietaries of western New Jersey before 
the war of independence. Clement Biddle, in 1764, united 
with others to form a military corps for the protection of the 
friendly Indians against the zealots called Paxton boys. He 
and his brother, Owen Biddle, identified themselves with the 

[274] 



Appendix 



non-importation resolutions of 1765. During the Revolution, 
Clement was instrumental in forming the body of Quaker 
volunteers of which he was colonel. He took part in the 
battle of Trenton and was appointed by Washington to re- 
ceive the swords of the Hessian officers. He also served in 
the battles of Princeton, the Brandywine, Germantown, and 
Monmouth. He, as well as his brother Owen, had a share in 
framing the revolutionary State constitution of 1776. 

Edward Biddle was an officer in the French war, 1756-63, 
He was speaker in the Assembly, and a delegate from Penn- 
sylvania to the Continental Congress 1774-6 and 1778-9. 

Nicholas Biddle entered the royal navy in 1770 and was 
made captain in the U. S. Navy in 1776 and took several 
prizes from the English. Freneau commemorated his death 
in the following poem, although with too great poetical license 
he represented him as falling in the moment of victory. Cap- 
tain Biddle met the adversary in a very unequal contest and 
acted with great gallantry. 

On the Death of 
CAPTAIN NICHOLAS BIDDLE 

Commander of the Randolph Frigate, blown up near Barbadoes 

What distant thunders rend the skies. 
What clouds of smoke in columns rise. 

What means this dreadful roar ! 
Is from his base Vesuvius thrown. 
Is sky-topt Atlas tumbled down. 

Or Etna' s self no more ? 

Shock after shock torments my ear ; 
And lo ! two hostile ships appear. 

Red lightnings round them glow : 
The Yarmouth boasts of sixty-four. 
The Randolph thirty-two — no more — 

And will she fight this foe ! 

The Randolph soon on Stygian streams 
Shall coast along the land of dreams. 

The islands of the dead ! 
But Fate, that parts them on the deep 
Shall save the Briton yet to weep 

His days of victory fled. 

[275] 



Philip Freneau 

Say, who commands that dismal blaze. 
Where yonder starry streamer plays ; 

Does Mars with Jove engage ! 
'Tis Biddle wings those angry fires, 
Biddle whose bosom Jove inspires 

With more than mortal rage. 

Tremendous flash ! and hark, the ball 
Drives through old Yarmouth, flames and all : 

Her bravest sons expire ; 
Did Mars himself approach so nigh. 
Even Mars, without disgrace, might fly 

The Randolph's fiercer fire. 

The Briton views his mangled crew, 
*♦ And shall we strike to thirty two 

(Said Hector, stain'd with gore) 
"Shall Britain's flag to these descend — 
*' Rise and the glorious conflict end, 

** Britons, I ask no more ! " 

He spoke — they charg'd their cannon round. 
Again the vaulted heavens resound. 

The Randolph bore it all. 
Then fix'd her pointed cannons true — 
Away the unwieldy vengeance flew ; 

Britain, thy warriors fall. 

The Yarmouth saw, with dire dismay. 
Her wounded hull, shrouds shot away. 

Her boldest heroes dead — 
She saw amidst her floating slain 
The conquering Randolph stem the main — 

She saw, she turn'd — and fled ! 

That hour, blest chief, had she been thine, 
Dear Biddle, had the powers divine 

Been kind as thou wert brave ; 
But Fate, who doom'd thee to expire, 
Prepar'd an arrow, tipt with fire. 

And mark'd a wat'ry grave. 

And in that hour, when conquest came 
Wing'd at his ship a pointed flame. 



Appendix 



That not even he could shun — 
The battle ceas'd the Yarmouth fled, 
The burning Randolph ruin spread. 

And left her task undone. 



James Biddle entered the navy in 1800. He served against 
Tripoli, where he was taken prisoner and detained over a year 
and a half. He served with great distinction in the war of 
1 812. For his services he received a gold medal from Con- 
gress, besides other honors. Captain Biddle was afterward 
Commissioner to Turkey, China, etc. 

Clement Cornell Biddle entered the naval service of the 
United States in the beginning of the last century, but retired 
to the study of law. He served in the war of 18 12 with the 
rank of colonel. 

Richard Biddle was a lawyer and writer; he served in Con- 
gress from 1837 to 1 84 1. 

Nicholas Biddle, the great American financier, was named 
after his uncle, the naval officer. After graduating from 
Princeton College he studied law, but being too young to 
practise he went to France as Secretary to General Armstrong, 
U. S. Minister. He afterwards went as Secretary to Mr. 
Monroe, U. S. Minister to England. He travelled extensively 
in Europe and gained a knowledge of the modern languages. 
In 1 8 10 he was in the House of Representatives of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 18 12— 15 was State Senator. In 18 19 Presi- 
dent Monroe appointed him government director of the United 
States Bank, and upon the resignation of Mr. Cheves, he was 
elected its president. The old charter expiring in 1836, the 
bank ceased to exist. Its success, however, caused the Legis- 
lature of Pennsylvania to create a State bank, called the U. S. 
Bank, and Mr. Biddle reluctantly accepted its presidency. In 
1839, by reason of his failing health, Mr. Biddle resigned, 
leaving the bank in an apparently prosperous condition. Two 
years after his resignation it became insolvent. Mr. Biddle's 
character won high eulogiums from even his political opponents. 
Mr. Biddle, as president of the trustees of Girard College, 
planned the building, as also that of the U. S. Custom House, 
which was formerly the U. S. Bank. His speeches, essays, 
and letters are said to exhibit great elegance with vigor of 



Philip Freneau 



style. He married Miss Craig of Philadelphia, and after his 
resignation retired to his country seat of Andalusia and devoted 
himself to literary pursuits. 

George W. Biddle practised law in Philadelphia. Besides 
holding many minor offices in that city, he was a member of 
the constitutional convention of Pennsylvania in 1873. ^^ 
became the leader of the bar of the State and- was retained in 
most cases of importance in the Supreme Court of the State. 
Besides contributing numerous legal papers, he wrote transla- 
tions of the Greek orations of Demosthenes, and ^Eschines on 
the Crown. 

Col. James Biddle, of the Ninth Cavalry, U. S. A., served 
in many engagements during the Civil War. His son, David 
Harmony Biddle, is at the present time (1901) serving in 
Manila. 



[ 27S ] 



Inde 



X 



Index 



Adams, i8, 72, 90, 96, 190 

Addison, 141 

Allaire, 42, 44, 46, 51, 55, 56, 

62, 66, 90 
Auboyneau, 46 
Andre, 225 
Andros, 22, 23 
Armstrong, 277 
Arnold, 123, 129, 134 
Asshurst, 46 
Atkinson, 191 
Auchmuchty, 93 

Bache, 158 

Bailey, 121, 181, 182, 183, 196, 

205, ZII 
Baird, 44, 255, 256 
Barbaric, 39, 46, 54 
Barlow, 159, 221 
Bartlett, 192 
Basnage, 6 
Bauer, 255 
Bayard, 93 
Bayeux, 46, 56 
Bayle, 7 
Bedford, 74 

Bellemont, 33, 34, 35, 37 
Benjamin, 160, 168 
Benoit, 6 

Beresford, 139, 228 
Bernon, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40* 

41. 42. 43. 44> SI 
Berthier, 140 
Biddle, 234, 274, 275, 276, 277, 

278 



Blatchford, 233, 234, 267, 268, 

269, 270, 271 
Bleecker, 64, 148 
Bonaparte, 64 
Booth, 114 
Bouche, 41 

Boudinot, II, 39, 118, 263 
Bousfield, 64 
Bowen, 151 
Bradford, 18, 74 
Brackenridge, 74, 78, 79 
Brevoort, 219, 220 
Bromfield, 123 
Brooks, 264 
Bruce, 274 
Bryant, 224, 225 
Buckley, 182, 183 
Budleigh, 119 
Burgoyne, 147 
Burke, 228, 264 
Burr, 17, 74, 90, 98, 172, 203 
Burrows, 149 
Butler, 139 
Byron, 222 

Calhoun, 201, 265 
Calvin, 4 
Campan, 163 
Campbell, 219, 221 
Carle, 62 
Carre, 41, 54 
Carroll, 165 
Cary, 180 
Caryl, 30 
Case, 128 



{281] 



Philip Freneau 



Cass, 148 

Cayale, 46 

Charron, 55, 257 

Chatham, 119 

Cheves, 277 

Christian, 185 

Clarke, 46 

Clay, 265 

Cleveland, 148, 234 

Cline, 268 

Clinton, 18, 30, 97, 99, loi, 122, 

134, 147, 190, 201, 264 
Cobbet, 189 
Colbert, 4, 254 
Colden, 93, 148, 201 
Collier, 107 
Conckling, 148 
Cook, 125 
Coole, 33 
Cooper, 93, 268 
Cornwallis, 99, 135 
Cosby, 59 
Cotesworth, 263 
Covenhoven, 263 
Crabbe, 228 
Craig, 278 
Croes, 232 
Cromelin, 46 
Crow, 119 
Cruger, 93 
Curtensius, 93 
Cuyler, 128 

Daille, 32, 33 
Daller, 90 
Davis, 190 
Dayton, 208 

Delancey, 17, 29, 46, 57, 62, 63, 
78, 93, 121, 136, 148, 220, 

Delarty, 59 
Denison, 233 
Dennie, 163 



De Razieres, 21 

Desbrosses, 63, 255 

D'Estaing, 102 

Dewitt, 201 

Dibdin, 217 

Dodge, 233 

Dongan, 18, 22, 23, 33, 90 

Douglas, 255 

Droilet, 39, 46 

Dryden, 221, 222, 224 

Dubois, 67 

Dudley, 43 

Duponceau, 164 

Du Pont, 42 

Duyckinck, 129, 190 

Dwight, 268 

Edgeworth, 228 
Eggleston, 69 
Ellsworth, 159 

Fairchild, 148, 149 

Fairlie, 201 

Faneuil, 42, 44, 45, 46 

Fenno, 158, 159 

Fish, 20 1 

Fithian, 74 

Fitzgerald, 230 

Fontaine, 56, 57 

Forman, 103, 147, 148, 207, 209, 

232 
Foy, 146 
Francis, 137, 165, 199, 200, 201, 

216 
Franklin, 17, 156, 178 
Fraunce, 17 
Frazer, 271, 274 
Fredet, 6 
Frost, 99 

Gage, 74, 93, 132, 137 
Gaines, 18, 92, 133, 136, 137, 138, 
218 



{282-1 



Index 



Gates, 20 1 

Gaudineau, 255 

Genet, 30, 163, 164, 165, 167, 16S 

Gerry, 172, 187 

Gordon, 149 

Grant, 99 

Granville, 172 

Gray, 163, 222 

Greeley, 185 

Greene, 98, 103 

Greenleaf, 167, 187, 188 

Greig, 267 

Grennet, 189 

Hale, 100 

Hamilton, 17, 59, 61, 93, 98 

156, 159, 162, 168, 169, 203 
Hammill, 227, 233 
Hanson, 83 
Harper, 165, 266 
Harris, 195, 234, 236 
Harrison, 265 
Harsmonden, 93 
Heister, 99 
Hempstead, 123 
Hendrick, 58 
Henry, 267 
Het, 51, 55 
Hobart, 46 
Hodge, 185 
Hopkins, 260 
Hopkinson, 133, 201 
Hosack, 200 
Howe, 99 
Hulings, 119 
Hull, 204 
Hume, 6 
Humphrey, 162 
Hunn, 68 
Hunter, 58 



Jackson, 161, 225 
Jamain, 36, 55 



Jarvis, 200 

Jay, II, 17, 46, 51, 52, 93, 172 

Jebb, 64 

Jefferson, 17, 126, 141, 143, 153, 

156, 157, 160, 164, 168, 169, 

170, 171, 172, 173, 176, 198, 

201, 202 
Jeffries, 133 
Johnson, 59, 162, 265 
Jones, 96, 126, 130, 131, 201, 

225, 260 
Jouneau, 46 
Jurael, 30 
Jurien, 6 

Kearney, 57, 59, 61, 66, 148 
Kenedy, 30 
Kirby, 142 
Knox, 98, 162 
Knyphausen, 102, 132, 134 

Laboyteaux, I 10 

Lafayette, 102, 126 

Lamb, 93, 97, 190 

Lamothe, 20 

Landon, 128 

Laport, 54 

Larrey, 6 

Laurens, 1 1 

Leadbeater, 120, 139, 170, 171, 

228,232, 233, 234, 235, 264 
Lear, 162 
Le Boyteulx, 39 

Ledyard, 123, 125, 128, 148, 227 
Lee, 74, 102, 103 
Lehre, 143 

Leisler, 24, 32, 33, 256 
Le Roy, 42, 51 
Lescour, 41 
Lewis, 162 
Lincoln, 122, 264 
Linklaen, 148 
Livingston, 18, 74, 91, 93, 148, 1S8 



\283\ 



Philip Freneau 



Longworth, 204, 205 


O'Callaghan, 90 


Lowe, 59 


Ogden, 74 


Lucas, 263 


O'Rielly, 229, 230, 231, 


Luvois, 4, 5 


254, 264, 265, 266, 267 


Lyman, 260 


Otis, 91, 92 




Paine, 159, 201 


Macdonough, 204, 225 


Papin, 41 


Madison, 17, 67, 74, 79» i5-. 


Patterson, 61 


156, 182, 183, 184, 1S7, 202, 


Peale, 200 


204, 205, 207, 236 


Peiret, 32, 33, 34, 39 


Mandeville, 13 


Penn, 9 


Manly, 107 


Percy, 132 


Marot, 57 


Perez, 61 


Marshall, 167, 172 


Perry, 225 


Martin, loi 


Peters, 123 


Matthews, 258 


Philippse, 46, 90 


Maury, 10 


Philips, 123 


Mayarin, 4 


Pinckney, 120, 122, 143, 


McClellan, 260 


187, 263 


McDougall, 93, 97 


Pindar, 170 


McEvers, 92 


Pintard, 157, 158, 201 


Middleton, 139 


Poe, 223 


Miller, 26, 148, 201 


Polk, 258 


Mills, III, 176, 263 


Poole, 4 


Mitchell, 72, 73, 201 


Pope, 210, 221 


Monroe, 277 


Porter, 204 


Montpensier, 234 


Provost, 63, 64, 65, 150, 201 


Moore, 123, 128, 221 


Putnam, 98, 99 


Morin, 52, 55, 56, 62, 65, 90, 


Pyncheon, 228 


256, 257 




Morris, 18, 59, 122, 267 


QuiNTARD, 256, 257 


Moulinars, 56 




Murray, 27, 52, 100, 130, 216 


Randolph, 182 




Richelieu, 2, 4 




Rittenhouse, 159 


Napoleon, 140, 230 


Rivington, 133, 134, 135, 160 


Neau, 46 


Robertson, 191 


Nelson, 162 


Robins, 119 


Newinhuysen, 45, 46 


Rochambeau, 176 


Nezereau, 46 


Rogers, 221 


Noel, 233 


Ross, 225 


North, 132 


Rou, 54, 56, 61, 62 



172, 



{284^ 



Index 



Rousseau, i6S 
Ruggles, 92 
Rutger, 90, 100 
Rutledge, 187 
Ryer, 254 

SCHUVLER, 5S 

Scott, 18, 52, 62, 89, 90, 91, 92, 

93> 94. 9S> 96, 97> loi, »o3. 

113, 219, 221, 258 
Sears, 93, 133 
Seymour, 128, 148, 149 
Shackleton, 228, 264 
Shaw, 56 
Sigourney, 43 
Smith, 90, 189, 211 
Smyth, 207 
Southey, 221 
Spring, 74 
Stanhope, 103 
Steele, 120, 205 
Stephens, 192 
Steuben, zoi 
Stirling, 98, 99, 100 
Stuyvesant, 21, 162 
Sullivan, 98, 99, 100, 267 
Sweeney, 233 

Talmont, 40 

Tappan, 148 

Tasso, 65 

Taylor, 268 

Tennant, 71 

Tessereau, 6 

Thomas, 139, i43» »+6> ^5^ 

Tobey, 83 

Trelawney, 256 

Trench, 228 

Trumbull, 133, 142, 221 

Tryon, 99, 132 



Tucker, 170, 264 
Turnbull, 100 
Tyler, 133 

Ulmann, 259 

Vail, 128, 267 
Van Brugh, 45, 46 
Van Campen, 267 
Van Cortlandt, 255 
Van Dam, 19, 46 
Van Rensselaer, 148, 149 
Van Twilier, 21 
Verplanck, 201, 217 
Vesey, 52 
Vincent, 46, 264 
Voltaire, 140, 221 
Von Kettler, 128, 148 
Von Liebig, 234 

Wadsworth, 265 

Walton, 29 

Washington, 171, 172, 234, 255 

Watson, 63, 66, 146, 166, 167, 

256 
Watts, 148 
Wayne, 102 
Webster, 265 
Wenham, 46 
Whitfield, 178 
Wickes, 268 
Willett, 257, 258, 259 
Williams, 90, 100 
Wilson, 156, 255 
Witherspoon, 73, 75, 78, 133 
Wood, 267 
WoodhuU, 100 
Wooster, 264 

Young, 123, 221 



[^-y/] 




/i^'ipq, 



T"^ 



